Perdi Trad

Perdi Trad, the popular culture festival in Perdifumo

Perdi Trad – Popular Culture Festival is the annual event held every June that brings the traditional music and dance of Southern Italy to the historic center of Perdifumo, a small town in the Cilento region of the province of Salerno, in Campania. Established in 2025 by the Pro Loco Perdifumo, the festival has quickly become one of the most recognizable summer events in Cilento dedicated to intangible heritage. It is not just a series of concerts, but a three-day journey featuring workshops, meetings, walks, and dance parties.

Three evenings that transform the village

For the duration of the festival, the village becomes a large open-air living room. Strings of warm lights wrap around the square, accompanying the rhythm of traditional Italian instruments in an atmosphere reminiscent of old-fashioned feasts: banquet tables, local wine, home-cooked food aromas, and people of all ages gathering to dance, sing, and share a moment of community. Musicians with tambourines, accordions, and powerful voices guide the audience on a cultural journey that blends memory and celebration, while dancers in traditional costumes bring the scene to life with engaging choreography.

More than just concerts: workshops and research

The Perdi Trad formula places performance and the transmission of knowledge on equal footing. Alongside the evening concerts, the program includes activities that allow the public to truly immerse themselves in the tradition:

• Folk dance workshops — from Cilento dance to Salento pizzica, with masters and researchers invited for the occasion;
• Tambourine and percussion workshops, focusing on the frame drum, the symbolic instrument of the Southern tarantella;
• Musical trekking along the trails and districts of the area, with musical stops along the way;
• Conferences and meetings on the history and meaning of folk rhythms;
• Balfolk and evening dance parties, where those who attended the workshops can put what they have learned into practice.

It is this alternation between study and celebration that defines the event's identity: you learn by day and dance by night, in a context where the audience is never a passive spectator.

The Night of the Tarantella

The most anticipated moment of each edition is the long night dedicated to the tarantella, featuring an expanded ensemble of musicians who take turns on stage until late. It is the emotional heart of the festival, where the square of Perdifumo fills with dance circles and the boundary between artists and the public completely dissolves.

Perdifumo and Cilento

Perdifumo stands at an altitude of about 425 meters, about ten kilometers southeast of Agropoli and just under 70 kilometers from Salerno, in one of the most picturesque hilly areas of Cilento. A village of just over 1,800 inhabitants that, for three days, multiplies its population and opens up its streets, squares, and piazzas as a widespread stage. The festival is part of a lively calendar of events curated by the local Pro Loco, which also offers other appointments throughout the year dedicated to art, the village, and traditions.

Why it is worth visiting

Perdi Trad is a great starting point for those who want to discover Cilento off the beaten path. Here, popular culture—music, dance, and food—becomes the key to telling the story of a territory. Visitors will find a welcoming community, a program that balances in-depth study with fun, and the chance to dance in the square until late at night, in one of the few occasions where Cilento tradition is showcased in its most vibrant and participatory form.