Once Upon a Time... Art and Doorways Edition

A village that opens its doors

Once Upon a Time... Art and Doorways Edition is the summer festival that breathes new life into the historic center of Cesinali, a small town in the province of Avellino, Campania. For one night, the alleys of the old village fill with lights, stalls, and installations: the old portoni (doorways)—which once led to peasant homes, cellars, and shared courtyards—are thrown open, becoming makeshift showcases, exhibition spaces, and corners for storytelling. It is from this simple idea that the festival's name was born, now presented in the expanded format of the "Once Upon a Time... Art and Doorways Edition."

Art, craftsmanship, and trades

The common thread of the evening is the promotion of local products and traditional craftsmanship. Along the route, painters, street artists, and artisans showcase their work live, following a well-established tradition: in the past, one of the village's oldest gates hosted collective painting exhibitions organized by Pro Loco volunteers. Art is not confined to a gallery but spreads throughout the urban fabric, and as visitors walk, they move seamlessly from an exhibition to a product stall, from a musical note to the scent of home cooking.

The flavors of Irpinia

The food and wine experience is one of the most anticipated elements. Cesinali is located in the heart of the Fiano di Avellino area, and local producers participate in the event by bringing their wines alongside the specialties of Irpinian cuisine. Traditional peasant dishes, cheeses, cured meats, and homemade desserts are offered at tasting points set up along the route, in a format that has evolved over the years into a local street food experience, with multiple stations distributed among small squares and open spaces.

• Local wines, with a special focus on Fiano di Avellino
• Typical dishes and products of Irpinian cuisine
• Craft and artisan trade stalls
• Painting exhibitions and street artist performances
• Live music and local folklore moments

A festival built by the village

The event is promoted by the Pro Loco of Cesinali in collaboration with the Youth Forum, with the involvement of local associations and volunteers. This is what sets it apart: it is not an event imposed from above, but an evening built by the inhabitants, who open their courtyards and doorways and make the village's private spaces available. The participation of young people, in particular, has brought a wider musical offering and greater attention to welcoming visitors from neighboring towns in recent years.

Cesinali and the Irpinian calendar

Cesinali is a small town in the Sabato Valley, just a few kilometers from Avellino, with a particularly rich calendar of traditions: from the feast of Saint Anthony the Abbot in January to the Zeza of Carnival, from the Good Friday Crucifixion to the celebrations of Saint Roch in August, and the feast of the patron saint, Pope Saint Sylvester, in December. "Once Upon a Time... Art and Doorways Edition" fits into this fabric as the secular summer appointment, the one that most effectively showcases the relationship between the community and its minor architectural heritage.

How to experience the evening

Access to the route is from the center of the town, and the format is that of a free stroll: there is no single stage, but a succession of stops to be discovered while walking. Recent editions have started in the early evening, around 9 PM, and continued until late at night. For those arriving from outside, it is an opportunity to discover a village that rarely appears on tourist itineraries, in an area of Irpinia where wine and food still represent a daily form of collective identity.