Grani in Festa

Grain, the harvest, and the memory of a territory

Grani in Festa was born with a clear goal: to recover and enhance the bond with the past and with an agricultural practice—that of grain and harvesting—which has shaped the identity of an entire territory. We are in the Sele Valley, in the municipality of Contursi Terme, in the province of Salerno, in the heart of inland Campania: a land of fields, olive groves, and thermal springs where the grain cycle has marked the calendar of farming families for centuries.

The event is held every year in July, immediately after the harvest, and has established itself in just a few editions as one of the most defining events of the Contursi summer: the 2024 edition was already the third, and by 2026 the festival had grown to span four consecutive days.

Piana district, "in the land of brigands"

The stage is the Piana district, one of the hamlets of Contursi Terme, which the organizers describe as the "land of brigands": a reference to the post-unification brigandage that affected the Sele Valley and its surroundings between 1860 and 1865, a theme to which past editions have dedicated book presentations and literary salons. The festival does not take place in a town square, but among threshing floors, olive groves, and open spaces, with settings that reconstruct the rural life of the past.

What to see and do

The format, consolidated in previous editions, alternates between educational and convivial aspects. Recurring highlights include:

• re-enactments of the farming world performed by the hamlet's inhabitants, with the blessing of agricultural machinery;
• the "Reviving Ancient Crafts" exhibition, dedicated to the work and tools of rural civilization;
• the "Grani in Lab" educational workshops, with thematic meetings also aimed at agricultural professionals (in one edition, the theme was the influence of lunar phases on crops);
• archery demonstrations and practice sessions;
• the gathering of agricultural machinery and the parade of vintage cars from Piazza Garibaldi to Piana;
• book presentations and literary salons on local history;
• games and activities for children, often inspired by traditional rural pastimes.

The food and wine trail among the olive trees

The gastronomic heart of the festival is the food and wine trail, with stands open for lunch and dinner. The menu revolves around typical dishes of the ancient Contursi farming tradition, with grain and its derivatives taking center stage. The Sunday lunch served among the olive trees is particularly beloved, accompanied throughout the day by folk music: tammorre, accordions, and traditional Campanian dances, joined in the evening by the "Chiana Disco Farm" DJ set.

Who organizes it

Behind the event is the Chiana cultural association, a non-profit organization from the hamlet, chaired by Pasqualina Moscato, who defines the event as "a journey into the history of the farming world in the land of brigands." The editions have taken place under the patronage of the Province of Salerno, the Municipality of Contursi Terme, the Pro Loco of Contursi Terme, and the San Donato Festival Committee; the Vice President of the Province of Salerno, Giovanni Guzzo, has also participated in the festival.

Contursi Terme, between thermal waters and the Sele Valley

Contursi Terme is a town of just over three thousand inhabitants perched at an altitude of 250 meters, famous throughout Campania for its thermal springs—the Bagni di Contursi, at the gates of the town—and for its strategic position along the Sele River, at the crossroads between the Sele Plain, the Alburni mountains, and Irpinia. The municipality has numerous hamlets, including Piana, and offers a busy calendar of events in summer that, in addition to Grani in Festa, includes the patronal feast of San Donato and a long season of concerts and shows in Piazza San Vito.

Why it's worth the trip

Grani in Festa is not a festival built around a single dish: it is a successful attempt to tell the story of an entire farming civilization through the tools of re-enactment, education, and dining. Visitors will find an authentically village-like setting, affordable prices, and the chance to understand how people lived and worked in the Sele Valley before mechanization. An event suitable for families and those looking for something different from the July coast in the Salerno hinterland.