Pasta Festival

The Montella Pasta Festival

Every summer, the town of Montella, in the province of Avellino, dedicates an evening to the iconic dish of Italian cuisine. The Pasta Festival is organized by the Pro Loco Montella Alto Calore and takes place in the large car park on Via Michele Cianciulli, just a short walk from the town center: outdoor tables, food stalls, and entertainment transform the area into a convivial square, where people eat elbow-to-elbow as per the tradition of Irpinian festivals.

Where it takes place

Montella is located in the upper Calore valley, at the foot of the Picentini Mountains, at an altitude of 560 meters and about fifty kilometers from the provincial capital, Avellino. It is one of the liveliest centers of inland Irpinia, in Campania, and in summer its outdoor evenings remain pleasantly cool compared to the coast. The Via Michele Cianciulli car park is the space the town reserves for summer gastronomic festivals: spacious, well-lit, easy to reach, and convenient for those arriving by car from neighboring towns.

The taste of Irpinian cuisine

The theme of the evening is simple: pasta, served in generous portions at affordable prices. Irpinia is a land of peasant cuisine, made of slow-cooked sauces, garden vegetables, mountain cheeses, and forest products. The Montella area is famous throughout Italy for the Montella PGI Chestnut—recognized as DOC in 1987 and PGI in 1997—but also for mushrooms, truffles from the nearby Picentini Mountains, and cured meats. The Pro Loco festivals are the most immediate opportunity to taste this cuisine without going to a restaurant, in an informal setting accessible to everyone.

A broader summer program

The Pasta Festival is not an isolated event: it is part of the «Montella Estate» (Montella Summer) program, through which the municipal administration, the Pro Loco, the Youth Forum, and local associations fill the summer months with concerts, exhibitions, excursions, sporting events, and gastronomic evenings. In the 2025 edition, the Pasta Festival was held on Sunday, August 3rd, followed the next day by a White Party and, on August 5th and 6th, by the Pizza Festival in the same space: three consecutive evenings that made the Via Cianciulli car park the beating heart of August in Montella.

Other festivals by Pro Loco Montella Alto Calore

• Pizza Festival — the twin evening dedicated to pizza, in the same space on Via Michele Cianciulli.
• Beer Festival — a summer event dedicated to beers and music.
• «Mangialonga dei Monti Picentini» — a food and wine walk through the local trails, now in its fourth edition.
• 42nd Montella Chestnut Festival — the town's major autumn event, dedicated to the PGI chestnut.
• «Castagne e Vino, Benedetto San Martino» (Chestnuts and Wine, Blessed be Saint Martin) and the Christmas Markets, which close the association's year.

What to expect in 2026

For 2026, the Pro Loco Montella Alto Calore has included the 2nd edition of the event in its annual program, renamed «Pasta and Bruschetta Festival»: pasta will therefore be joined by bruschetta, another classic of summer conviviality in the South. At the moment, no official dates or program for the evening have been released. The event is traditionally held in the first days of August, within the Montella Estate program: it is therefore advisable to keep an eye on the channels of the Municipality of Montella and the Pro Loco in the weeks leading up to Ferragosto.

Why it's worth the trip

Those who come to Montella for the Pasta Festival find much more than just a food fair. The town houses the Convent of San Francesco a Folloni, a national monument of 13th-century origin, the Monte Complex with its castle and the Church of Santa Maria della Neve, and the Sanctuary of the Santissimo Salvatore overlooking the valley. A few kilometers away are the Laceno plateau and the woods of the Picentini Mountains, ideal for a walk before sitting down to eat. It is the best way to discover an authentic Irpinia, far from the most beaten tourist circuits of Campania.