Inter-municipal Carnival of Futani, Castinatelli, San Mauro la Bruca and Cuccaro Vetere

A Carnival that unites four Cilento villages

The Inter-municipal Carnival is a festival that brings together small communities in the Cilento hinterland, in the province of Salerno, Campania, every winter: Futani with its hamlet Castinatelli, San Mauro la Bruca, and the Municipality of Cuccaro Vetere. Rather than organizing four separate, inevitably smaller events, these towns have chosen a shared approach for several years: a single calendar and a single event that travels from village to village over several consecutive days.

This choice is based on clear logic. These are towns with only a few hundred inhabitants, perched on the hills that separate Mount Gelbison from the coast; on their own, they would struggle to organize floats, masked groups, and entertainment for an entire day. Together, however, they succeed in creating an event that lasts a long Carnival weekend and attracts families from across the entire region.

Masks, colors, and music from village to village

The event preserves the most genuine spirit of the southern popular carnival: no large structures or imposing stages, but squares, streets, and alleys filled with confetti, music, and masks. The organizers present it as four days designed for both adults and children, with a program revolving around fixed ingredients:

• masked parades along the streets of the towns, featuring masked groups and floats;
• entertainment and music in the main squares of each town;
• children's games and face painting, the true stars of the festival;
• convivial moments with local communities at the end of each stop.

The fact that the festival changes location every day is part of the fun: those who follow all the stops cross four different historic centers in just a few days, each with its own squares, alleys, and customs.

Cuccaro Vetere, a hilly stop on the Carnival trail

Cuccaro Vetere is one of the most characteristic villages in the group: a hilltop town overlooking the Cilento valleys, within the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. The town center, clustered around its uphill streets, is well-suited for village parades that wind between the houses and spill out into the main squares.

Cuccaro Vetere is, after all, a town with a recognized festive vocation: every summer, it hosts the Palio del Ciuccio, a historic Cilento popular event. The Carnival is, in a sense, its winter counterpart: more intimate and familiar, but with the same spirit of collective participation.

The rotation between municipalities

Each edition assigns one day to each involved location. In 2025, for example, the festival started on March 1st in Cuccaro Vetere, then continued on March 2nd in Ceraso, March 3rd in San Mauro la Bruca, and concluded on March 4th in Futani. In 2026, the group of towns was redefined around Futani, Castinatelli di Futani, San Mauro la Bruca, and Cuccaro Vetere, with four consecutive days from February 14th to 17th.

A festival that keeps communities together

Beyond the playful aspect, the Inter-municipal Carnival is also a small experiment in territorial collaboration. It is the Pro Loco associations of the various municipalities, with the support of local administrations, that pool volunteers, equipment, and ideas. For villages that empty out in winter and struggle with depopulation, sharing an event means ensuring its survival and giving families a fixed date on the calendar.

When to go and what to expect

The event falls on the classic Carnival days, between the weekend before Shrove Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday itself. It is a local festival, especially suitable for families with children and those who love Cilento in the off-season: no crowds like at a major historic carnival, but lively towns, people in masks on the streets, and the chance to discover an inland area that often remains in the shadow of the beaches of Palinuro, Ascea, and Marina di Camerota during the summer.