Montella Beer Festival

A late-summer celebration in the heart of Irpinia

As August draws to a close and the mountain evenings begin to cool, Montella bids farewell to summer with its Beer Festival. The event, promoted by the Pro Loco Montella Alto Calore, debuted in 2025 and quickly carved out a special place in the town's calendar: the last weekend of August, when the community gathers outdoors before returning to the daily routine. It is not a monumental event or a massive festival; it is a local square celebration, designed for the community and for those passing through Irpinia during those days.

The format follows the tried-and-tested style of Southern Italian beer festivals, adapted to the context of a mountain town in the province of Avellino: draft beer stations, food stalls, long outdoor tables, and music that keeps the evening going late. It starts at 8:00 PM, when the heat has faded and the air from the Picentini Mountains makes being outside a pleasure.

Beer, taste, and local cuisine

The common thread is, of course, the beer, served on tap and accompanied by the dishes that are a staple of Irpinian summer festivals: fried foods, sandwiches, grilled meats, and traditional peasant recipes. Montella is a land of bold, recognizable products, and even a seemingly "light" festival like this ends up telling the story of the territory through its food.

• Draft beer and pouring stations managed by Pro Loco volunteers
• Festival cuisine with hot dishes and evening street food
• Music accompanying every evening
• Outdoor area equipped with tables and seating

The Via M. Cianciulli parking lot, the festival square

The event takes place in the large Via M. Cianciulli parking area, a space that completely changes its function for three nights to become the center of Montella's evening life. It is a practical yet symbolic choice: the festival does not hide in a closed venue; it stays in the heart of the town, accessible on foot from most of the residential area. Visitors from out of town will find an informal setting, without formalities, where you sit wherever there is space and quickly get to know the table next to you.

Part of the Montella Estate program

The Beer Festival did not emerge in isolation: it is one of the events of Montella Estate, the program that the Municipality of Montella builds every year together with the Pro Loco, the Youth Forum, and local associations. In 2025, the schedule ran from late May to September 6th, featuring excursions on the Verteglia Plateau, stargazing nights, sports tournaments, comedy shows, concerts, and other gastronomic festivals. In this mosaic, the Beer Festival occupies the final slot, the farewell to summer.

For 2026, the Pro Loco Montella Alto Calore has included the second edition of the Beer Festival in its annual activity program, filed alongside those of other Irpinian Pro Loco associations. As of the writing of this guide, however, the exact dates have not yet been made public: it is worth keeping an eye on the Pro Loco and Municipal channels towards the end of the summer.

Montella, between the Picentini Mountains and PGI chestnuts

Montella is a town in inland Irpinia, in Campania, overlooking the Picentini Mountains Regional Park. Its name is primarily linked to the Montella PGI Chestnut, celebrated every autumn by one of the longest-running food festivals in the province of Avellino, now in its fortieth year. The town is surrounded by chestnut forests, beech woods, and plateaus like Verteglia, a popular destination for summer hikes.

Those who choose to stay for a few days will find a double reason for interest: the evening festival and, by day, an hinterland little touched by mass tourism, made of trails, springs, nearby villages, and a gastronomy that ranges from the black truffle of nearby Bagnoli Irpino to mountain cheeses and cured meats. In this sense, the Beer Festival is a great excuse to discover a corner of Campania that is still visited far too little.