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

A Carnival that connects four Cilento villages

The Inter-municipal Carnival is the late-winter festival that unites Futani, its hamlet Castinatelli, San Mauro La Bruca, and Cuccaro Vetere, four small communities in the Cilento hinterland in the province of Salerno, Campania. The formula is simple and, for a territory made up of towns with only a few hundred inhabitants, it is also the smartest: instead of multiplying separate and overlapping events, local administrations and associations build a single shared calendar. Each day moves to a different center, and the public follows the festival from town to town, along just a few kilometers of inland roads.

Masks, colors, and music for all ages

The program spans four days designed for both children and adults. Masks, colors, music, and joy invade the squares and alleys of the historic centers, where the activities that define the event are concentrated:

• parades of masks and masked groups through the village streets;
• entertainment with music and performances in the squares;
• games and activities dedicated to the little ones;
• face painting, one of the most requested activities by families.

It is a community Carnival, not a large tourist machine: the floats and groups are born from the work of volunteers, young people, and associations from the four towns, and the festival thrives on word-of-mouth among families, relatives, and friends who return to the village for the occasion.

Futani, Castinatelli, San Mauro La Bruca and Cuccaro Vetere

Futani is the lead town of the event, with its hamlet Castinatelli participating as an autonomous stop of the festival. A few kilometers away are San Mauro La Bruca and Cuccaro Vetere, hillside villages overlooking the hinterland behind the Cilento coast. These are small-sized towns with historic centers gathered around the church and the main square: this small scale makes the Carnival particularly engaging, because the parade literally crosses the entire town and practically everyone ends up taking part.

The Carnival in the Futani festival calendar

The Carnival Festival in February is a permanent fixture in the annual calendar of events in the Municipality of Futani, alongside other appointments that mark the town's year: the Saint Paul Fair on January 25th, the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist on April 25th, the Moscato and Sparkling Wine Festival at the end of August, and the Chestnut Festival in November. The Carnival effectively opens the season of popular events, at a time of year when the Cilento hinterland is far from the summer tourist flows and the festivals have a primarily identity-based and social value.

What to expect from a visit

Those arriving from outside will find an authentic and informal Carnival, without tickets or grandstands: you stay in the street, follow the procession, and stop in the squares where the entertainment continues. It is an opportunity to discover a side of Cilento that remains little visited in winter, made of quiet villages, olive groves, and chestnut woods, and to experience a tradition that here is not staged for visitors but simply continues to be practiced by the community.