Graffaiuolo Festival of Sicilì

The graffaiuolo, the biscuit that tells the story of Easter in Sicilì

The Graffaiuolo Festival takes place in Sicilì, a hamlet in the Municipality of Morigerati, in the province of Salerno, in the heart of the Cilento hinterland and thus of the Campania region. It is not a massive festival for thousands of visitors; it is a village feast born to celebrate a specific sweet: the graffaiuolo, the Easter biscuit prepared here for generations, which, covered in white naspro glaze, graces family tables in the days leading up to Easter.

The organizers' idea is simple and clear: to bring a domestic ritual that usually stays hidden in home kitchens out into the square, to show it to those who are unfamiliar with it, and to let everyone taste it. For one evening, Piazza Umberto I thus becomes an open-air workshop, with the dough kneaded in front of the public and the scent of the wood-fired oven filling the village center.

A simple recipe, a handed-down tradition

The graffaiuolo is made of a few humble ingredients: eggs, flour, oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of baking soda. The result is a biscuit that is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, finished with naspro, the classic white glaze that makes it instantly recognizable. The value of this sweet lies not in the complexity of the recipe, but in the manual skill with which it is shaped and baked—a skill that in Sicilì is passed down from generation to generation.

In the 2025 edition, the preparation was led by Teodora Pellegrino, a guardian of the art of the graffaiuolo, who kneaded and baked in front of the attendees. This is the profound meaning of the festival: the graffaiuolo is described by the community as a shared memory and identity, a sweet that holds the village families together more than any written recipe.

How the festival unfolds

The program of the editions held so far revolves around a few moments, all concentrated in the square:

• live demonstration of the dough preparation and biscuit shaping;
• baking in a wood-fired oven, according to the traditional method;
• free tasting of freshly baked graffaiuoli;
• sale of graffaiuoli prepared by the Pro Loco, to take home for Easter;
• refreshment point with sandwiches, fries, and wine;
• live music, with acoustic sets accompanying the evening.

The schedule is typical of Cilento village feasts: it starts in the late afternoon, when the oven is already hot, and continues into the evening.

Who organizes it

Behind the initiative is the Pro Loco Morigerati - Sicilì APS, an association recently reconstituted to bring life and events back to the two centers of the Municipality. The same Pro Loco manages the summer calendar of Morigerati and Sicilì, filled with games, tournaments, concerts, and treasure hunts: the Graffaiuolo Festival, however, is the event that opens the season, as it falls in spring and is directly linked to Easter.

Morigerati and Sicilì, between the Bussento and the Cilento

Morigerati is a small municipality in the province of Salerno located within the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. Its most famous attraction is the Bussento Caves WWF Oasis, established in 1995 and considered one of the most significant geosites in Cilento: the trail starts from the historic center and descends into a lush gorge, among springs, waterfalls, and an ancient water mill, reaching the point where the karst Bussento river re-emerges after a long underground stretch.

Those arriving for the festival thus find a context that goes well beyond the square: a stone village, a landscape of water and rock, and a local cuisine still tied to the seasons. Sicilì, the hamlet hosting the event, retains the intimate scale of a Cilento village, with the square as the true center of collective life.

When to go

The event is tied to the Easter calendar and falls in April. In 2025, the festival took place on Saturday, April 12th, starting at 6:00 PM in Piazza Umberto I. For the 2026 edition, an official date has not yet been released: it is best to follow the channels of the Pro Loco Morigerati - Sicilì APS, which usually announces the event a few weeks before Easter.