Monteverde in Festa: A Christmas to Experience

Christmas in one of Italy's most beautiful villages

Perched at an altitude of over 700 meters, on the extreme eastern border of the Province of Avellino, Monteverde is a village of a few hundred inhabitants that gathers around its castle during the winter. For several years, the Municipality of Monteverde, together with the Pro Loco and local associations, has brought together under a single banner all the events that accompany the village from the days before Christmas until Epiphany. This is not a large-scale commercial event: it is something rarer in Campania, a community Christmas where the program is created by the people who live in the village and the families who return for the holidays.

A two-week calendar

The formula is now well-established. It begins in the days immediately preceding Christmas Eve with parties dedicated to children, continues with the arrival of Santa Claus and the musical and theatrical events of the week between Christmas and New Year's, and closes on January 5th or 6th with the Befana and bingo nights. In between, there are film screenings, creative workshops, board game nights, karaoke, dinner shows, and moments of solidarity. Each edition changes its title and nuances — a Christmas to experience, a special Christmas — but the spirit remains the same: to keep the village vibrant and inhabited in the heart of the Irpinian winter.

The venues of the festival

• The former Kindergarten (ex Asilo Infantile): the hall that hosts meetings dedicated to the little ones, screenings, and the Christmas lottery draw.
• The Casa dell'Accoglienza, on Corso Europa: the space for concerts, theatrical performances, dinners, and the New Year's Eve party.
• Piazza Don Ruggiero Mastrilli: the meeting point for the Christmas Eve toast and the arrival of Santa Claus after Holy Mass.
• The rectory and the historic center's churches, where liturgy, bingo, and village conviviality intertwine.

The castle and the historic center

The backdrop for all this is one of the best-preserved historic centers in Alta Irpinia. The castle, with an irregular plan and four cylindrical corner towers, was built by the Lombards to defend the borders of the Duchy of Benevento, expanded in the 15th century by the Aragonese, and transformed into a noble residence in 1744 by the Sangermano barons; the complete restoration in 2006 returned it to the community as a cultural space. At its base remain sections of Pelasgian-Samnite walls from the 4th-3rd century BC. Around it lie paved alleys, the Pelosi and Spirito palaces with their portals, the former cathedral rebuilt in Baroque style in 1728, and the churches of Santa Maria del Carmine, Sant'Antonio, and San Rocco.

Flavors of Alta Irpinia during the holidays

Christmas is also the time when the village pantry opens. Monteverde is known for its cured meats — soppressata and capocollo above all — and for cheeses linked to shepherding and cattle breeding: caciocavallo, scamorza, and ricotta. There is also locally produced craft beer. These are the products found on the tables of social dinners and in Christmas lottery baskets, which tell the story of the bond between the village and its plateau better than any brochure.

A village designed for everyone

Since 2013, Monteverde has been part of the "Most Beautiful Villages in Italy" club, and in 2015 it was voted the second most beautiful village in Italy during a national television broadcast. But the recognition the village is most proud of concerns accessibility: in 2019, it was awarded the European Access City Award, dedicated to the most accessible cities. Paths, slopes, and public spaces have been redesigned so that even those with mobility difficulties can navigate the historic center — a detail that, during the holidays, allows all generations of the village to truly participate.

How to experience the festival

Visitors arriving from outside will discover a corner of Campania little touched by mass tourism, a stone's throw from the borders with Puglia and Basilicata. The advice is to dedicate at least a full day to Monteverde: visit the castle and the alleys in the afternoon, then attend the scheduled evening event, whether it's a gospel concert, a theatrical show, or a bingo night. The final calendar is released by the Municipality and the Pro Loco close to the holidays, usually in the first half of December, on official channels and the municipal Facebook page.