Inter-Municipal Carnival (Laurito stage)

A carnival that unites the villages of inner Cilento

The Inter-Municipal Carnival is one of the most popular events in the inner Cilento: a traveling parade that, stage by stage, visits several small towns in the province of Salerno, in Campania. The municipality of Laurito is one of the historic venues for the event and hosts a day entirely dedicated to allegorical floats, costumed groups, and choreography every year.

The underlying idea is simple and effective: instead of organizing many small, separate parties, the communities pool their floats, costumes, and volunteers, bringing the same caravan from town to town. The result is a carnival capable of filling the streets of mountain villages with only a few hundred inhabitants with color and music, with a turnout that exceeds the organizers' expectations every year.

The Laurito stage

In Laurito, the costumed parade travels through the town center to end in the main square, where the day continues with music, dancing, and entertainment. In the 2025 edition, the parade started from the S. Antonio area at 3:30 PM to arrive in Piazza S. Giovanni Battista, the heart of the celebration: a route that crosses the town and effectively involves all the neighborhoods.

In 2026, the Laurito stage was held on Saturday, April 18th, as part of a calendar that also brought the event to Alfano, Rofrano, and Montano Antilia. For an afternoon, the streets of Laurito become an open-air catwalk, where groups perform choreography prepared for weeks and allegorical floats, built by hand by volunteers, parade among the people.

The competition categories

The Inter-Municipal Carnival is not just a parade: the stages make up a real competition, with prizes awarded at the end of the final appointment. There are four categories:

• Best allegorical float
• Best choreography
• Best costume
• Best costumed group

The announcement of the winners closes the event: in 2026 it took place in Montano Antilia, the site of the grand finale, while in the previous edition it was held in Alfano, in Piazzetta Vito Battaglia.

An off-season carnival

In 2026, the event was scheduled in April rather than the usual February period, placing it among the off-season carnival events of the Cilento. A choice that extends the festival season and allows for parades with longer days and milder weather, ideal for outdoor shows in the hillside villages.

Who organizes it

The event is promoted by the Pro Loco associations of the involved municipalities — Pro Loco Alfano, A.S.C. Pro Loco Laurito, and Pro Loco Rofrano — with the patronage of the municipal administrations. It is a collective effort based on volunteering: building floats, preparing costumes, rehearsing choreography, and managing logistics between towns. In 2026, the guest municipality of Torre Orsaia also joined the caravan.

Laurito, a village in inner Cilento

Laurito is a small town in the province of Salerno, in Campania: just over six hundred inhabitants, at about 475 meters above sea level, in the Cilento hinterland behind the Gulf of Policastro. Like many towns in the area, it thrives on social life in the square, consisting of patronal feasts, food festivals, and community gatherings: the Inter-Municipal Carnival is now one of the most anticipated moments of the calendar, capable of attracting visitors from neighboring towns as well.

Why it's worth it

Those looking for the spectacular carnival of big cities will not find it here: the Inter-Municipal Carnival is something else, more authentic and closer to home. You are right in the middle of the groups, you recognize the faces of the townspeople under the masks, and you applaud the floats built in the volunteers' garages and sheds. It is the best way to see the inner Cilento in its truest dimension, far from the beaches and the most beaten tourist circuits.