Gustati Giovi

Four nights of flavor in the hills of Salerno

Gustati Giovi is the food and wine festival that brings Giovi Bottiglieri, a hillside district in the Municipality of Salerno, Campania, to life every July. For four consecutive evenings, the heart of the neighborhood turns into the Giovi Village: food stalls, wood-fired ovens burning until late, outdoor dining tables, and a stage that changes its tune every night, featuring dance, comedy, karaoke, and live music. All this is just a few minutes' drive from the city center, yet nestled in the hills, offering cooler air and a view stretching toward the Gulf of Salerno.

A festival born from the neighborhood

The event is organized by the ANSPI «Vivere Insieme» circle, an association rooted in the Giovi Bottiglieri district and born from the initiative of a group of citizens who, over the years, have built a dense network of social and cultural activities around the club. Gustati Giovi is its signature event: the starting idea is to go beyond the classic village fair and transform the scheduled days into a true summer highlight, capable of attracting audiences from across the province of Salerno.

This approach also drives the care for raw materials: most of the products used in the kitchen come from small local producers in the Salerno area, with a focus on organic quality, food safety, and short supply chains. This is no minor detail: here, the quality of the ingredients is part of the story, not just a superficial label.

The cuisine: Salernitan tradition, no shortcuts

The menu changes every night, but the common thread remains the popular cuisine of the province. Among the recurring dishes:

• Pasta and potatoes with provola and pancetta, the festival's flagship dish;
• Mezze candele alla genovese, the white onion and meat ragù that is an absolute classic of Campanian cuisine;
• Gnocchetti with potatoes, arugula, provola, and porcini mushrooms;
• Lagane and chickpeas, a rustic memory of the Salernitan hinterland;
• Wood-fired chicken with roasted potatoes and veal strips with arugula and parmesan shavings;
• Eggplant parmigiana and caciocavallo impiccato (hanged cheese), slowly melted over the embers.

Alongside the hot dishes is the entire production of the wood-fired oven, which is perhaps the true signature of the festival: bread baked fresh every night, wheat biscuits, summer fresella, and sandwiches filled with capocollo, roasted eggplant, sausage, spleen, pancetta, and caciocavallo. A dedicated counter offers local cured meats and cheeses. To finish, the unmissable zeppole, fried to order every night.

The stage: a new genre every night

Each evening has its own identity and audience. Over the years, the program has featured dance nights hosted by local dance schools, stand-up comedy shows, interactive karaoke formats like the Karacorrida or "La Corrida in piazza," electric violin performances, and concerts by Salernitan bands. The entertainment is designed for an intergenerational audience: families with children, groups of friends, and curious visitors who drive up from the city to dine outdoors and stay until late at night.

Why head up to Giovi

Those who know Salerno know that the city doesn't end at the seafront. The hillside districts — Giovi Bottiglieri, Giovi Piegolelle, Giovi Casa Bruno — preserve a village-like fabric that lights up in the summer. Gustati Giovi is the best opportunity to discover them: you eat well, spend little, listen to live music, and chat with the people cooking. It is the kind of festival where hospitality is not a service, but a neighborhood habit.

For those visiting Campania in July, the event fits perfectly into an itinerary that includes the historic center of Salerno, the Norman Cathedral, the Amalfi Coast to the west, and the Picentini Mountains to the north. An evening in Giovi is a quick and sincere immersion into the cuisine of this part of Campania.