Once Upon a Time in Trentinara – Folk Traditions Festival

A festival rooted in tradition

From July 22 to 26, 2026, the municipality of Trentinara, in the province of Salerno, hosts the first edition of "Once Upon a Time in Trentinara – Folk Traditions Festival." Five days designed to restore the village's great summer celebration after the 2025 season went without it. The event is organized by the association Radici & Orizzonti APS, founded by some of the historic organizers of the Bread Festival, with the patronage of the Municipality of Trentinara and the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park.

The historic center as a stage

There is no single event area: the festival occupies the alleys, arches, and small squares of the historic center, which transform every evening from 5:30 PM into a continuous path of artisan stalls, communal tables, vintage photo exhibitions, and street performers. It is a format that invites you to walk slowly, step into workshops, stop to hear a story, and then head toward the music stage.

The musical program

The evening concert lineup, all with free admission, is dedicated to the folk music of Southern Italy:

• Wednesday, July 22 — Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
• Thursday, July 23 — Santino Cardamone
• Friday, July 24 — The Kiepò
• Saturday, July 25 — Pietro Cirillo & Officine Popolari Lucane
• Sunday, July 26 — I Rittantico

From Salento to Basilicata and the sounds of Cilento, the common thread is the musical tradition of the South brought to a contemporary stage.

Workshops, crafts, and folk dances

The daytime heart of the festival lies in the workshops. Every day, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, children learn to make fresh pasta, take basic basket-weaving courses, and attend short lessons on the history and evolution of local customs in Trentinara: children's activities require registration.

• Folk dances — pizzica, Cilento tarantella, and tammurriata from the Agro Nocerino-Sarnese, with Mariagrazia Lettieri
• Wicker basketry — live demonstrations with Francesco Mauro
• Ceramics — wheel throwing and decoration with Antonella Di Lascio
• Stories and memory — historical photo exhibitions and tales of peasant life

Cilento on the table

The culinary offering is intentionally limited to historical preparations of the Cilento area, without concessions to generic street food. First courses include fusilli, cavatielli, strangulaprieviti, lagane and chickpeas, and Cilento pizza; second courses include sfriuonzolo, noglia with sauce, stuffed eggplant, and ciambotta. Desserts close the evening with bocconotti, zeppole, Cilento cannoli, and pastiera.

From the Bread Festival to Once Upon a Time in Trentinara

For twenty years, Trentinara has been known for the Bread and Peasant Civilization Festival, founded in 2005 and becoming one of the most popular summer events in Campania, featuring bread baked in stone ovens and folk songs along the village streets. After eighteen editions, the event did not take place in the summer of 2025 following a rift between the municipal administration and the historic organizers. "Once Upon a Time in Trentinara" was born in 2026 as the new name for the festival, carrying on its spirit: the same community, the same crafts, and the same idea of hospitality, with a broader scope dedicated to all folk traditions.

Why visit Cilento in late July

Trentinara is an inland village in the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, a short distance from the coast between Paestum and Agropoli. It is a stop that allows you to alternate days at the beach and archaeological visits with evenings at altitude, when the temperature drops and the village comes alive. For those visiting Campania in summer, the festival is one of the most authentic ways to experience Cilento's peasant culture without a tourist filter.