Great August Fair

The fair that lights up Monteverde's summer

The Great August Fair is one of the most anticipated events of the summer in Monteverde, a small village in Alta Irpinia, in the province of Avellino, in the eastern part of Campania. For an entire day, the streets of the historic center change their appearance: from the early afternoon, the stone alleys fill with stalls, voices, and scents, and the village returns to being what it has been for centuries—a place of exchange and meeting for the communities of the Ofanto Valley.

This is not an event manufactured for tourists, but a village fair in the most authentic sense of the term: an occasion where those who have emigrated return, families reunite, and the village, which counts very few inhabitants for most of the year, fills with people until the evening.

Stalls and crafts along the historic center

The heart of the event is the large path of stalls that winds between the square and the main streets of the village. Starting in the afternoon, the fair offers:

• artisan stalls distributed along the streets of the historic center;
• food stands with local specialties and products;
• spaces dedicated to all ages, from children to the village elders;
• games and entertainment concentrated in the square and the equipped green area.

The formula is simple and tried-and-tested: you walk, you look, you taste, and you stop to chat. The small size of the village means that everything is reachable on foot in a few minutes, which makes the fair particularly convenient even for those arriving with small children or elderly people.

The flavors of Alta Irpinia

Irpinia is one of the most solid gastronomic lands in Southern Italy: here, some of the great Campanian wines are born, alongside a peasant tradition made of homemade pasta, cheeses, cured meats, and baked desserts. At the Great August Fair, the tone is not that of haute cuisine, but the straightforward one of village gastronomy, served at the stands set up along the fair's route. It is the most direct way to understand how people really eat around here, far from the most beaten tourist paths of the Campanian coast.

A day designed for children too

An important part of the fair is reserved for the little ones. In documented editions from recent years, the square and the park area have hosted magic shows, puppets, baby dance, inflatable mascots, workshops, and games, with entertainment groups accompanying the children throughout the afternoon. This, more than anything else, gives the event its family character: the August Fair is a day when parents can let their children run free in a car-free, human-scale historic center.

Monteverde, one of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy

The fair is also an excellent excuse to discover the village that hosts it. Monteverde is part of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy circuit and is considered one of the most evocative Irpinian villages: a compact settlement perched on the ridge, dominated by the Baronial Castle of the Grimaldi Princes, an ancient stronghold guarding the valley. The municipality has also obtained the Bandiera Lilla (Lilac Flag), a recognition dedicated to tourist accessibility, and the local Pro Loco has been working on this theme for years with specific initiatives.

Around the village opens the landscape of eastern Alta Irpinia, on the border with Puglia and a stone's throw from Basilicata: the Ofanto River and its reservoirs allow for excursions, canoe trips, and cycling routes, while the village retains a silent atmosphere that completely transforms during the summer festival days.

When it takes place

The Great August Fair is traditionally held in the heart of August, around the days of Ferragosto, and is part of the summer calendar curated by the Municipality of Monteverde together with the Pro Loco, which also includes the Feast of the Madonna del Carmelo and other initiatives distributed between July and September. Recent editions have taken place over a single day, with the opening of the stalls in the early afternoon and a program that continues until the evening.