Patronal Feast of Saint Euplio and Saint Lucy

A patronal feast on the roof of Irpinia

At 1,094 meters above sea level, Trevico is the highest municipal seat in Campania: a stone balcony overlooking the Baronia, in the province of Avellino. Every year, in the middle of August, this village of just over seven hundred inhabitants fills with people for the Patronal Feast of Saint Euplio, which intertwines with the feast of Saint Lucy celebrated the following day in the Molini hamlet. It is a time when those who have emigrated return home, families reunite, and the alleys of the historic center remain lively until late at night.

Saint Euplio, the martyr who arrived from Sicily

Euplio was a young Sicilian deacon, martyred in Catania on August 12, 304, during the persecution of Diocletian: he appeared before the governor with the Gospel in his hands and refused to hand over the sacred texts. Trevico tradition holds that a soldier brought his relics to this mountain and that, upon reaching the Pescarella district, the urn became so heavy that he could not continue: it was the clergy who climbed up in procession to retrieve it. By 1284, Euplio was already recognized as the patron saint of Trevico. The relics are kept in a 1703 silver urn in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, which also preserves those of the Palermitan martyr Saint Rosalia.

The days of the feast

The religious calendar is fixed and marks every edition:

• Early August — the preparatory novena in the cathedral, which traditionally begins on the 3rd of the month;
• August 12 — the patron saint's day: bell concert in the morning, multiple masses throughout the day, a solemn Eucharistic celebration presided over by the Bishop in the late afternoon, the display of the urn with the relics, and a procession through the village streets with the statue, accompanied by a brass band and fireworks;
• August 13 — feast of Saint Lucy, with mass and a procession at the church in the Molini hamlet, inaugurated in 1980, followed by an evening of music and food stalls in the district.

Faithful from all over the Baronia and the towns of Upper Irpinia, along with Sicilian devotees, flock to the patronal feast. In the past, the procession was preceded by ox-drawn carts loaded with grain offerings, the proceeds of which were donated to the town's poor: a detail that shows how deeply rooted the devotion is in the Irpinian peasant culture.

The Trillo Festival and the flavors of the Baronia

The secular side of the festivities revolves around the table. The signature dish is trillo, a fresh, handmade pasta similar to cavatello, served with porcini mushrooms from the surrounding woods; alongside it, you will find porchetta, spit-roasted pork, Irpinian hams, mountain cheeses, and local wines. The Trillo Festival, held in Piazza Ettore Scola during the evenings that open the feast, has become the most anticipated gastronomic event of the Trevico summer.

Music in the square until late

Every edition brings an evening concert with free admission to Piazza Nicola Ferrara, with food and drink stalls open: over the years, local folk groups, cover bands, and well-known names of Italian pop music—in 2025, I Cugini di Campagna took the stage—have alternated, along with tribute nights and DJ sets that go on until late. The municipal band, the bell concert, and the pyrotechnic displays complete a typically Southern soundscape.

The thread that unites Trevico and Sicily

In recent years, the devotion to Saint Euplio has re-established a bond with the martyr's home island: a relic was brought from Trevico to Francavilla di Sicilia, and a Sicilian delegation has in turn traveled to Irpinia. In November 2024, the community welcomed the return of the 17th-century wooden statue of the patron saint, restored in Nusco and brought back to the cathedral in procession: a sign of how central the figure of Euplio remains to the town's identity.

Trevico beyond the feast

Those arriving for the festivities will find a village that can be explored on foot in an hour: the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, of ancient origins, the panoramic alleys of the historic center, Palazzo Scola—the birthplace of director Ettore Scola, born here in 1931 and donated to the Municipality in 2003—and the viewpoints overlooking the Ufita Valley. The Municipality of Trevico and the Santa Maria Assunta parish organize the feast together with the local committee: an opportunity to discover an inland Campania that is cool and authentic in August.