Granoni Festival

The corn festival in the heart of the Fortore Valley

The Granoni Festival is the celebration with which San Bartolomeo in Galdo, the largest and most populous town in the Fortore Valley, in the Province of Benevento (Campania), honors its simplest and most iconic product: the granone, the corn that has matured in the fields around the village for generations. Organized by the Pro Loco SBiG with the Municipality of San Bartolomeo in Galdo, the festival turns a central square into a large open-air kitchen, where corn on the cob is cooked and served hot, one after another, until late at night. This is not an event built for tourists: it is the night when the village comes together.

Scheduled for Sunday, August 9, 2026, in Piazza Mercato

The 2026 edition is scheduled for Sunday, August 9, 2026, starting at 8:00 PM, in Piazza Mercato: this is what the official program of the Sanbartolomeana Summer 2K26 indicates, signed by the "Le Feste di SBiG" Committee together with the municipal administration. It is a one-night event, not a multi-day festival: those who arrive early find a seat at the tables, while those who arrive later eat standing up while strolling through the square. The location may change from year to year within the town center — Piazza del Carmine, Piazza Mercato, via Vadoricci — but the formula remains the same.

What to eat

The Pro Loco menu is intentionally essential, popular, and meant to be eaten with your hands. In recent editions, the stands have offered:

• granoni, i.e., corn on the cob cooked on the spot: the absolute stars of the evening;
• sandwiches and arrosticini (grilled meat skewers) from the grill;
• popcorn, a must for the little ones;
• local beer and wine.

In some editions, the Pro Loco has added Sannio specialties like caciocavallo impiccato, melted over the flame and served on warm bread. The final menu is announced in the days immediately preceding the festival on social media channels and the Pro Loco app.

Live music and dancing in the square

The festival is not just about gastronomy: every year the evening is accompanied by a live band or a DJ set that keeps the square dancing until late. In 2025, Retro Chic took the stage with their vintage repertoire; in 2024, it was the turn of the Hammond Trio, with a program ranging from rock to pop and jazz; in 2022, the party closed with group dances and a DJ set by Ferro G. For 2026, the name of the musical guest has not yet been made public.

A piece of the Sanbartolomeana Summer

The festival opens an unusually rich summer calendar for a town of four thousand inhabitants, which in 2026 runs from late July to mid-September. Other events include:

• the Salt Cod Festival, Monday, August 17;
• the 'za mon'c ca cammic' Festival with traveling markets, Sunday, August 23;
• the band concert of the Orchestra Fiati Città di San Severo conducted by Antonello Ciccone and The Three Tenors – The Caruso Trio, Monday, August 24 in Piazza Garibaldi;
• Fred De Palma in concert, Wednesday, August 26 in via Pasquale Circelli, with a fireworks display;
• the 3rd Rocky Marciano Festival, Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30;
• the 4th Datterino Tomato Festival, from September 4 to 6.

August 24 also marks the solemnity of the Patron Saints, Saint Bartholomew the Apostle and Saint John the Hermit, with an evening procession.

San Bartolomeo in Galdo, the village of the Fortore

At 597 meters above sea level and with just over four thousand inhabitants, San Bartolomeo in Galdo overlooks the valley of the Fortore river, a few kilometers from the border with Puglia. The economy is still largely agricultural — cereals and wheat first and foremost, then grapes, olives, fruit, vegetables, and legumes — which explains why a festival dedicated to corn is felt as something more than a simple summer fair. Before or after dinner in the square, it is worth seeing the Mother Church, consecrated in 1703 and recognizable by the bell tower that is the symbol of the town, the 18th-century Palazzo Catalano, the Episcopal Palace commissioned by Bishop Simeone Majolo at the end of the 16th century, and, outside the town, the Sanctuary of Maria SS. Incoronata.

Why it's worth the trip

Those looking for an authentic festival, without filters and without city prices, will find here one of the most genuine examples of inland Campania: a crowded square, the scent of corn on the grill, generous portions, and an atmosphere suitable for families.