Organ Festival - Church of San Rocco in Pietramelara

The Organ Festival at the Church of San Rocco

In Pietramelara, a village in the Alto Casertano at the foot of Monte Maggiore, in the province of Caserta, the Organ Festival brings great organ music into the Church of San Rocco. This is no ordinary concert series: the municipality of Pietramelara is one of the most loyal stops on the tour, which travels annually through the smaller towns of inland Campania, focusing on the antique instruments preserved in local churches. The formula is simple and effective: a historic organ, a performer, a church open to all, and no admission fee.

A 1901 Pacifico Inzoli organ

The heart of the Pietramelara festival is the Pacifico Inzoli pipe organ, built in 1901: two manuals, 19 stops, and 1,087 pipes. A monumental instrument, rare for a town of this size, which underwent a major restoration by the Francesco Lena workshop in Cassino: complete disassembly and cleaning of the pipes, mechanical overhaul and adjustment, and precise tuning and voicing. In April 2025, the organ was returned to the community with a conference dedicated to pipe organs and a solemn mass celebrated by Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio, who also gave a lecture in the church on the history of the instrument and its role in the life of the village.

The custodian of the organ is the teacher Andreana Pilotti, the church organist and director of the "Laudate Dominum" choir: she is entrusted with the concert that opens the Pietramelara leg of the 2026 edition.

Five August evenings in memory of Father Roberto Mitrano

In 2026, the festival reserved the entire second part of the program for Pietramelara: five concerts between August 2 and 30, always at 8:00 PM, dedicated to the memory of Father Roberto Mitrano (2016-2026), the priest who worked tirelessly for the protection and restoration of the church organ. It is a choice that speaks volumes about the relationship between the town and its instrument: here, organ music is not a niche interest, but a matter of collective identity, carried forward by the parish together with the municipality and local families.

The evenings take place every Sunday, with the exception of Monday, August 17, and conclude at the end of the month, when the Caserta summer heat begins to wane and the churches return to being the coolest and most intimate places in town.

A traveling festival through the province's churches

The Organ Festival does not end in Pietramelara. The 2026 edition features ten total events spread from May 2 to August 30, also touching Alvignano (Santuario dell'Addolorata), Sepicciano di Piedimonte Matese (Church of SS. Marcello and Michele), Aversa (Church of SS. Filippo and Giacomo), and Castel Campagnano (Church of S. Maria ad Nives). The festival is organized by the Anna Jervolino Association together with the Caserta Chamber Orchestra, with the patronage of the involved municipalities and the support of the Organi Storici Campani association. The organizers' stated goal is for organ music to be a shared asset, capable of bringing together different generations and audiences, while serving as a tool for tourism and cultural promotion for an area often off the beaten path.

What to expect

First-time visitors are particularly struck by the acoustics: the Church of San Rocco reflects the sound of the Inzoli organ with a richness that no recording can capture. The programs alternate between Baroque repertoire, sacred pieces, and 19th-century transcriptions, following the taste and training of each performer. The audience is diverse: enthusiasts from across the province and local families.

• Free admission to all concerts, no booking required
• Fixed start time: 8:00 PM
• Single venue in Pietramelara: Church of San Rocco
• Five evenings in 2026, all in the month of August
• Traveling festival across five municipalities in the province of Caserta

Why it's worth the trip

The Organ Festival offers a true immersion into the local territory: great music, a restored historic organ, and a village in inland Campania that would rarely appear on a classic tourist itinerary. By combining the evening concert with a day spent between Pietramelara and Monte Maggiore, you can create a slow-paced, unique August weekend.