Maria SS. Immacolata Patronal Feast

The most anticipated summer festival in Vallesaccarda

In the calendar of Vallesaccarda, a small town of just over 1,300 inhabitants perched at an altitude of 650 meters in the province of Avellino, the beginning of August holds special significance. It is the time of the Patronal Feast in honor of Maria SS. Immacolata, celebrated together with Saint Anthony and Saint Roch, the saints to whom the Baronia community is traditionally devoted. For two days, the town changes its face: illuminations create glowing arches along the streets of the center, families set long tables for relatives returning from afar, and Piazza Michele Addesa transforms into the town's great open-air living room.

Faith and popular tradition

The religious dimension remains the heart of the event. The focal point is the Church of the Immacolata, which overlooks the main square of the town, where celebrations in honor of the patron saint take place. Around the liturgy, the entire apparatus of the Southern popular festival develops: stalls selling nougat, peanuts, and sweets, rides for children, the marching band, the charity lottery—whose drawing is one of the most anticipated moments of the final evening—and the fireworks that close the festivities, illuminating the hills of the Baronia.

Music in Piazza Michele Addesa

For years, the Vallesaccarda patronal feast has earned a small reputation in the Irpinian district for the quality of its musical lineups. The stage set up in Piazza Michele Addesa has hosted a diverse range of acts over time, from contemporary Neapolitan songs to stars of the Italian youth scene, with free concerts that attract audiences from all the neighboring towns of the Baronia and Upper Irpinia. The evenings follow a well-tested rhythm: an opening act or show in the early evening, a main concert late at night, and a DJ set until late into the night.

Inside the "Vallesaccarda Summer" program

The patronal feast is not an isolated episode; it represents the highlight of the summer program that the Vallesaccarda municipal administration builds every year together with local associations. Night treks, open-air cinema, sports tournaments, eco-friendly bike rides, food and wine evenings, and events dedicated to farming traditions accompany residents and visitors for several weeks, between the end of July and mid-August.

Vallesaccarda and the Baronia

Located at the eastern edge of Campania, bordering Puglia and Basilicata, Vallesaccarda belongs to the Baronia, the hilly area of the province of Avellino known for its wide landscapes, water mills, and home-style cooking that has made the town a true gastronomic destination: here, the tradition of handmade pasta and Irpinian peasant recipes is still practiced daily. Participating in the patronal feast therefore means coming into contact with a way of living as a community that in Campania survives above all in the inland villages, where the patron saint's feast is the town's true civil New Year.

Why attend

• Free admission to all shows set up in the square
• A regional-level concert in an intimate and authentic setting
• Rides, stalls, and entertainment for families with children
• Fireworks over the Baronia hills
• The chance to discover one of the most appreciated cuisines of Irpinia