Maio Festival of Saint Anthony the Abbot

The Maio: A ritual of Irpinian identity

In the Municipality of Quadrelle, a small town in the lower Irpinia area of the Province of Avellino, the Maio Festival in honor of Saint Anthony the Abbot is celebrated every January. This is no ordinary patronal feast: it is a collective ritual that involves the entire town, passed down through generations and marked by ancient gestures where religious devotion and community life are seamlessly intertwined.

The Maio is a tree cut from the forests surrounding the town and then dragged by hand to the town center by local teams. It is a strenuous, collaborative effort requiring coordination, strength, and collective leadership—which is precisely why it has become the symbol of Quadrelle’s identity, even more so than the procession that accompanies it.

Felling, hauling, and auctioning the Mai

The ritual cycle unfolds in three distinct stages over the course of a few days.

• The felling — Team leaders are officially assigned a tree by the committee in the mountains above the town. The felling takes place in the morning, away from the eyes of visitors, and is the most technical and physically demanding phase.
• The hauling — This is the spectacular heart of the festival. The Mai are dragged through the town center using ropes, by sheer human strength, until they reach the square in front of the church. This procession draws onlookers and enthusiasts from neighboring towns.
• The auctioning of the Mai — At the end of the festivities, the trees are sold, with the proceeds going into the committee's budget alongside the offerings collected during the traditional rounds.

Four days of faith and community

The festival calendar alternates between religious and civil events. It opens with the traditional collection round through the town streets, a door-to-door effort that serves both to financially support the festivities and to strengthen neighborhood ties. This is followed by the great bonfire—the fucarone—lit in the square in front of the parish church, accompanied by live folk music and local food tastings.

The day dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot features Holy Mass, the procession, and, in the afternoon, the grand hauling. The festivities conclude with a fireworks display and a final collection round, in a continuous blend of the sacred and the popular that defines the authentic spirit of Quadrelle’s tradition.

A recognized intangible heritage

The Maio Festival in honor of Saint Anthony the Abbot is inscribed in the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Campania (IPIC), the instrument through which the Campania Region records, protects, and promotes the living traditions of its territory, in line with the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. This recognition places the Quadrelle ritual alongside the great identity-defining festivals of Campania and confirms what the locals have always known: that the Maio is not just postcard folklore, but a fully active social practice.

The committee, the teams, and the town

The organization is entrusted to the Saint Anthony the Abbot Committee, chaired by Fiore Paolo di Giuseppe, which works in collaboration with the SS. Annunziata parish and the Municipality of Quadrelle. There are six teams, each led by a captain; in recent years, a significant innovation has been the addition of a team composed entirely of women who participate in the hauling of their own Maio.

The committee has also adopted a policy of public financial reporting: for the 2026 edition, they declared revenues of 5,975 euros and expenses of 5,015 euros, with a surplus of 960 euros earmarked for future initiatives. This is a rare level of transparency for a local festival, which speaks volumes about the relationship between the committee and the community.

What to expect

• An authentic ritual, not staged for tourism: you are witnessing something the town does for itself.
• The charm of the Irpinian January, amidst the cold, the fire, and the crowded narrow streets.
• Live folk music, a brass band, local food tastings, and a final fireworks display.
• Intergenerational participation, with children, young people, and the elderly all involved.
• Free admission to all festival events.