Mountain Festival

A festival born to tell the story of the Alburni

Every summer, the Mountain Festival brings the village of Sicignano degli Alburni—a municipality in the province of Salerno, Campania, nestled at an altitude of about 600 meters on the slopes of the Alburni Mountains—up to the heights. The event, organized by the Pro Loco Monti Alburni APS, takes place in the Tamburo area, a woodland that becomes the heart of a program dedicated to the environment, ancient trades, and mountain conviviality for two days. In 2026, the festival reached its fifth edition, scheduled for June 27th and 28th, following the fourth edition in July 2025.

Walking to learn: excursions and trekking

The common thread of the festival is walking. Previous editions have proposed excursions to mountain basins and along the Alburni trails, guided tours of the historic center of Sicignano, and nature observation moments, including the evening appointment with the starry sky, which in 2024 was titled "The stars are watching us." It is a direct way to understand why this limestone massif is often called "the Campania Dolomites": clear walls, sinkholes, beech forests, and high-altitude pastures a short distance from the Vallo di Diano and Cilento.

The ancient trades of the mountain

The most identity-defining part of the event is dedicated to traditional knowledge, recreated live by those who inherited it:

• The catuozzo — the "Attuorn o catuozz" demonstration reconstructs the traditional charcoal kiln, the wood stack used to produce charcoal in the Alburni woods.
• The art of master cheesemakers — the processing of curd and the subsequent tasting show how milk became cheese in mountain farms.
• Mules and their handlers — a tribute to the work that for generations connected the village to pastures and charcoal kilns.
• Craft workshops — hands at work on simple materials, wood, and natural fibers, with space for children as well.

The taste of the territory

Alongside the demonstrations, there are food and wine trails: the food area and zero-kilometer markets bring together local producers, with Alburni cheeses, cured meats, bread, legumes, and local oils. It is a sober, peasant gastronomy that here is not just window-dressing folklore, but the daily cooking of the village families, served in the woods on communal tables.

Folk music and evenings in the woods

The two days conclude with music: live concerts and Cilento folk music groups enliven the festival area until the evening, with tarantellas, accordion music, and the folk repertoire of the South. In past editions, local groups and bands have performed, in a program that alternates traditional dancing with lighter offerings.

Traditional games and families

The Mountain Festival is also designed for those arriving with children: traditional games, activities in the woods, and workshops fill the Sunday afternoon, while the open-air format and affordable prices make it one of the most accessible summer outings in the Alburni area.

Sicignano degli Alburni, the village and its hamlets

Sicignano degli Alburni has just over three thousand inhabitants distributed between the main town and the hamlets of Terranova, Galdo degli Alburni, Zuppino, Scorzo, and Castelluccio Cosentino. The historic center, dominated by the castle, overlooks the Tanagro plain and is the natural starting point for climbing towards the Alburni plateaus. The Mountain Festival is part of a rich local calendar, which also includes the historic Chestnut Festival in October and the summer food trail "Cammenanne Spuzzulianne," both managed by the same Pro Loco.

Why it is worth the trip

In a region where summer is almost always synonymous with the coast, this festival offers the exact opposite: altitude, shade, silence, and a very concrete relationship with the woods. It is a small event, without big names, where the value lies in the quality of the hospitality and the opportunity to walk in the company of those who travel those paths all year round.