Olive Oil Festival - Le Vie dell'Olio (Ravece Award)

The new olive oil festival in the heart of Baronia

Every autumn, when the olive harvest begins in the Ufita Valley, the municipality of Castel Baronia, in the province of Avellino (Campania), dedicates a day of celebration to freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil. The event has changed its name several times over the years—Ravece Award, Le Vie dell'Olio, Olive Oil Festival—but its core remains the same: bringing visitors and enthusiasts into the olive groves to show how oil is made and to let them taste it straight from the mill.

The Ravece cultivar and the Irpinia PDO

The absolute star is the oil obtained from the Ravece cultivar, the basis of the Irpinia - Colline dell'Ufita PDO, the only Protected Designation of Origin for extra virgin olive oil in the province of Avellino. According to local tradition, the plant was introduced in the late Middle Ages by Verginian monks at the convent of San Giovanni della Valle, right here in Castel Baronia. Since then, Ravece has become a hallmark of identity for all of Irpinia, appreciated for a sensory profile where bitterness and spiciness remain clearly recognizable.

A day in the olive grove

The format perfected in recent editions is the "day in the olive grove": a guided tour along the Ancient Land of Oil that follows every step of the supply chain, from harvesting to milling, all the way to the new oil. The meeting point is Piazza Pasquale Stanislao Mancini, in the town center, from where the group sets off on foot into the countryside.

• Mini-treks through the olive groves surrounding the village;
• Olive harvesting alongside local producers;
• Guided tour of the mill with an explanation of the pressing process;
• Rustic breakfast with typical products from the Baronia area;
• Tasting of the new oil on toasted bread, known as crusch;
• Educational sessions with an introduction to tasting extra virgin olive oil.

The Ravece Award

The Ravece Award is historically linked to the festival, a recognition promoted by the Pro Loco Castellese in collaboration with the Municipality of Castel Baronia. In past editions, it has honored figures from Irpinia or those connected to the region who have distinguished themselves in journalism, catering, and sports. The ceremony takes place in the Franciscan cloister of the Town Hall, featuring the presentation of oil produced from olives harvested by students of the "Benedetto Croce" Comprehensive Institute, alongside certificates for local producers.

A village at six hundred meters altitude

Castel Baronia has just over a thousand inhabitants and sits at approximately 639 meters above sea level, in the green belt that stretches from the Ufita Valley toward the border with the province of Foggia. The name recalls the Norman-era castle and its subsequent belonging to the Barony of Vico; the historic center preserves the Palazzo Mancini, linked to the memory of the jurist and statesman Pasquale Stanislao Mancini. It is a small town where the olive oil festival is also a way to bring back those who have emigrated and to introduce visitors to an inland Irpinia that is best discovered on foot.

When it takes place

The event traditionally falls in October, when the harvest begins. In recent years, it was held on Sunday, October 27, 2024, and Sunday, October 26, 2025, while in 2023 the event was spread over two days, one reserved for schools and one open to the public. Dates are usually announced by the organizers a few weeks in advance, depending on the progress of olive ripening.

Why it's worth the trip

This is not a festival of food stalls: it is a day in the countryside, with your hands among the branches and the scent of the mill in the air. Those who attend take home the taste of new oil, but also an understanding of what it means, for a town in inland Campania, to defend a cultivar and a landscape. It is an experience suitable for families, hikers, and anyone who wants to truly understand oil before buying it.