Mugliatello Festival

A festival born from a family flavor

The Mugliatello Festival is one of the most cherished gastronomic events in Piana di Monte Verna, a small town in the province of Caserta, Campania. The event was born from the desire to bring back to the square a dish that, for generations, has been a staple in the domestic calendar of peasant families on the Caiazzo plain: a dish tied to the tradition of butchery, the use of every part of the animal, and a philosophy of cooking that wastes nothing. Around this flavor, the local community builds a day of celebration where tasting, music, and social gathering hold equal importance.

What is mugliatello?

Mugliatello (or mugliatiello) belongs to the great family of meat preparations in Campanian folk tradition. In the hinterland between the Caserta and Irpinia regions, the term generally refers to a meat roll made from offal—usually lamb or kid—tied with intestines, seasoned with aromatic herbs, and cooked in tomato sauce or grilled. In some areas, the same name is used for pork-based butchery preparations, crafted according to ancient peasant recipes. It is a dish with character, almost always accompanied by homemade bread, seasonal vegetables, and a glass of local wine.

How the festival unfolds

The festival is centered in the town center, where tasting stands and producers' stalls are set up. Based on previous editions, the day includes the opening of the stands, lunch or dinner featuring mugliatello in its various preparations, the presence of typical local products—cheeses, preserves, bread—and moments of folk music with entertainment for all ages. The atmosphere is that of a typical Campanian village festival: shared tables, slow rhythms, and no formalities.

Piana di Monte Verna, a village on the Caiazzo plain

With just over two thousand inhabitants and an altitude of only 80 meters above sea level, Piana di Monte Verna stretches across the Caiazzo plain, about ten kilometers north of Caserta and about forty from Naples, in a territory marked by the course of the Volturno river and the hills that close the horizon toward the Matese mountains. The town borders Caiazzo, Capua, Castel di Sasso, Castel Morrone, and Limatola, and includes the hamlet of Villa Santa Croce.

• Church of Sant'Angiolillo, carved into the heart of the mountain and linked to a natural cave, of probable Lombard origin;
• Church of Santa Maria a Marciano, with an early medieval layout, featuring frescoes from the 14th to the 16th century;
• Abbey of Monte Santa Croce, of early medieval age, built on the remains of a Samnite acropolis, of which sections of cyclopean walls remain.

The town is also known as the «city of the snail», another identity-defining product of the territory, and the community commemorates the miracle of 1860 every May 21st, one of the most deeply rooted moments of the local collective memory.

When it takes place

The Mugliatello Festival is traditionally held in the month of May: the most recent documented edition took place on Thursday, May 22, 2025. At the time of writing, an official date for the next edition has not yet been published; it is therefore advisable to check the channels of the Municipality and local associations before traveling.

A town that thrives on events

The festival is part of a rather lively local calendar. The Municipality and local associations enliven the summer with the «Vivi la Piazza» (Live the Square) festival, which from mid-June to mid-September brings children's cinema, sports tournaments, poetry evenings, the White Night, the White Dinner, Porchetta Day, and the Pizzonta Festival to the town, in addition to the Trebbiando event dedicated to peasant culture. The Pro Loco also organizes Borghi sotto sopra, which animates the streets of the main town and Villa Santa Croce.

Why it's worth a detour

The Mugliatello Festival is not a large-scale event: it is an authentic community celebration where the star dish is tasted in the square rather than in a restaurant window. For those visiting the province of Caserta beyond the Royal Palace—between Caiazzo, the Volturno, and the hills of the Middle Volturno—it is an opportunity to encounter a rural Campania that is rarely talked about and to take home a flavor that is hard to find elsewhere.