Koinòs Festival

A festival that brings the Cilento region back to the year 1000

The Koinòs Festival takes place in Castinatelli, a small hamlet in the Municipality of Futani, in the province of Salerno, nestled in the heart of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. For two days in mid-July, this Cilento village is transformed into a 10th-century settlement surrounding the evocative Abbey of Santa Cecilia, a landmark of the territory now immersed in silence and ancient olive trees. The event is not designed as a simple costume re-enactment, but as a journey of memory and spirituality where the landscape becomes a narrative and history turns into an experience to be explored slowly, on foot.

The meaning of the name

The title refers to the ancient Greek term koinós (κοινός), meaning "common" or "shared." It is a word that encapsulates the essence of the Basilian monks' communal life: community, prayer, work, and the transmission of knowledge. This serves as the guiding theme of the festival, dedicated to the Byzantine culture of the Italo-Greek monks and the figure of Saint Nilus of Rossano, the pilgrim monk who, according to tradition, crossed these lands. The concept was developed by professor and maestro Mauro Navarra, artistic director of the Artisti Cilentani Associati theater and music company, who oversees the festival's artistic direction.

What to see and do

Around the abbey, a medieval village comes to life, inhabited by performers and actors in costume who guide visitors through the monastic life, daily work, and culture of the Basilian monks. The program alternates between performances, academic study, and conviviality:

• the "At the Dawn of Santa Cecilia" historical pageant, an evocative itinerary following the footsteps of Saint Nilus and his companions;
• theatrical performances in the natural theater of the woods and olive groves, including a drama dedicated to Saint Nilus of Rossano directed by Alina Di Polito;
• live music featuring a classical harp concert by maestro Giuseppe Romano and ancient/medieval repertoires by the groups Emian and Kiepò, using instruments such as the colascione, Renaissance guitars, ciaramella, friscarulo, tamburo battente, and zampogna;
• a scholarly talk on Italo-Greek monasticism in Byzantine Cilento;
• demonstration workshops on medieval crafts and trades, alongside herbal medicine workshops using herbs and elderflowers gathered in the Park;
• moments of meditation and digital detox to rediscover a slower relationship with time and nature;
• the Taberna del Monaco, offering traditional dishes inspired by Basilian cuisine and local Cilento flavors.

The Abbey of Santa Cecilia

The complex of Santa Cecilia degli Eremiti stands just outside Castinatelli and was built starting in 1022. For centuries, it served as a place of worship and prayer, as well as a weekly market, school, and pharmacy for the surrounding communities, before falling into abandonment and becoming a ruin. Today, traces of the cloister and water collection wells remain in a landscape of great charm at the foot of Mount Gelbison. It is this layered memory—Longobard, Benedictine, and Italo-Greek—that makes the site the natural stage for the festival.

A community-born event

The Koinòs Festival is promoted by the Castinatelli community in collaboration with the Artisti Cilentani Associati association, the LiberArts creative residency, and the Futani municipal administration, with the support of the Campania Region and local associations. It is a community project that aims to promote little-known heritage while combating the depopulation of inland Campania, demonstrating that culture can become an opportunity for connection and sustainable economy for a small mountain village.

Why attend

Those who arrive in Castinatelli will find a side of Cilento far from the seaside crowds: stone villages, olive groves, paths connecting Castinatelli to the Eremiti area via the ancient abbey, and a community that shares its story without filters. The festival is an opportunity to combine performance, history, and hiking, just a short distance from the Cilento coast and the archaeological sites of Velia and Paestum, and to explore a lesser-known chapter of Southern Italian history: the Greek monks who brought crops, books, and a culture based on peace and collaboration to these lands.