«Palommina Rossa» Chestnut Festival

The «Palommina Rossa», the chestnut of the Valle del Dragone

In Volturara Irpina, a town in the Irpinia region of the province of Avellino, in Campania, the chestnut is not just any autumn fruit: it is a pillar of the local economy and community identity. The variety grown in the chestnut groves surrounding the Valle del Dragone is called «Palommina Rossa» and falls under the protected designation of origin of the Montella Chestnut PGI. It is medium-small in size and rounded, with a thin, dark brown skin with reddish highlights that separates easily from the pulp: a feature that makes it perfect for roasting and for use in desserts, creams, and jams.

At the end of the agricultural season, the community of Volturara celebrates this product with the «Palommina Rossa» Chestnut Festival, the event that ideally closes the Volturara Summer calendar, which reached its thirty-seventh edition in 2024. It is not an improvised fair, but an appointment that has marked the town's autumn for decades.

Three days of food stalls in Piazza Roma

The heart of the festival is Piazza Roma, in the town center, where for three days—traditionally from Friday to Sunday—food stalls are set up. The rhythm is always the same: opening on Friday evening, followed by a double shift on Saturday and Sunday, at noon and again after sunset.

The tables feature Irpinian peasant cuisine revisited around the chestnut, roasted chestnuts prepared on-site, artisanal desserts and liqueurs, as well as the quarantino bean, the other symbolic product of Volturara Irpina, which has its own dedicated festival in September. Everything is accompanied by Irpinian wines, from a province that is among the most renowned in Southern Italy.

Folk music and evenings in the square

Each day ends with a free concert in the square, around 9:30 PM. Over the years, bands from the Campanian folk scene and local groups have performed: Ascarimè, Microkosmo, Fusione, Le Riflessioni, Playlist Italia, Amba Aradam, Barabba Blues, Tarantwo, Le ninfe della Tammorra, and I Bottari di Macerata Campania, with their drums and barrels beaten in rhythm. On Saturday night, after the concert, the square often turns into a disco night hosted by local DJs, continuing until late.

More than just food: nature, museums, and climbing

One of the most interesting features of this festival is the daytime activity program, which turns the event into an opportunity to discover the area:

• guided tours of the Bocca del Dragone, the karst sinkhole that regulates the drainage of the plain's waters and gave the valley its name;
• visits to the town's Ethnographic Museum, dedicated to the tools, trades, and daily life of the local peasant civilization;
• climbing and via ferrata routes on nearby walls, with guides and by reservation: in 2024, the festival also hosted a specialization course for CAI guides;
• the Chestnut Tournament reserved for youth categories, which reached its third edition in 2024;
• camper area, equipped picnic spaces, and a dedicated bus parking area for those arriving in groups or wishing to stay overnight.

Excursions and sports activities have limited capacity: telephone booking with the organizers is therefore essential.

Organizers

The event is promoted by the Municipality of Volturara Irpina together with the Pro Loco Volturara and numerous local associations, with the patronage of the Campania Region. It is included in the circuit of events highlighted by Sistema Irpinia, the tourism portal of the Province of Avellino, and is part of the Volturara Summer program, the calendar that brings together festivals, sporting events, religious feasts, and cultural initiatives of the Municipality from May to October.

When it takes place

The festival always falls in October, at the height of the chestnut harvest: from October 11 to 13 in 2024, from October 20 to 22 in 2023, and from October 21 to 23 in 2022. The exact dates are usually announced a few weeks in advance through the Municipality and Pro Loco channels: those arriving from afar should check them before traveling, as early or late ripening can shift the chosen weekend.