Pietra Poesia Festival

A poetry festival in the heart of the Alto Casertano

The Pietra Poesia Festival is a literary event that brings Pietravairano to life every September—a small town of just under three thousand inhabitants in the province of Caserta, in the hinterland of Campania. The subtitle chosen by the organizers, "words and voices from a place of memory," perfectly captures the spirit of the event: it is not a top-down program, but a dialogue between contemporary Italian poetry and a landscape of stone, narrow alleys, and layered history.

The format is that of a "widespread festival": streets, squares, and small plazas in the historic center become reading rooms, exhibition galleries, and open-air stages. Admission is free, a choice maintained since the very first edition and an integral part of the cultural project.

The origins: from 2022 to today

The festival was born in 2022 from an idea by Gianni Iasimone, poet and artistic director of the event, and Daniela Muratori, with the collaboration of Giuseppe Castrillo. It is organized by the Microcosmus Cultural Association, supported over the years by the Pozzo di San Lorenzo Aps Association and the Pietravairano Pro Loco. The event is held under the patronage of the Campania Region and the municipalities of Pietravairano, Vairano Patenora, and Caianello.

In just a few editions, the festival has grown into a point of reference for poetry in Southern Italy, capable of looking beyond the borders of the host town and the Alto Casertano to engage with poetic and artistic experiences from all over Italy. The fourth edition, in September 2025, saw unprecedented public attendance.

What to see and hear

The program is intentionally multidisciplinary, alternating moments of critical reflection with pure listening. Recurring sections include:

• Poetry readings in standard language and dialect, featuring authors invited from across the peninsula;
• Art exhibitions and installations set up in the village spaces, often featuring nationally renowned artists;
• Round tables with critics, scholars, and university professors on the state of Italian poetry;
• Poetic walks through the alleys and toward the archaeological site, with itinerant readings;
• Theatrical performances and musical interludes to close the days;
• The «Paesi Tuoi» Competition, reserved for secondary school students from Pietravairano, Vairano Patenora, and Caianello, with a public awards ceremony for the finalists.

A place that is already poetry: the Monte San Nicola Theatre-Temple

The festival owes much to its context. Above the town lies the Samnite complex of the Monte San Nicola theatre-temple, rediscovered by chance in 2000 and brought to light by subsequent excavations: a late-republican sanctuary with a three-cell temple and a semicircular cavea carved into the slope—one of the rarest examples of its kind in the Samnite area, alongside Pietrabbondante. Walking to the site and listening to verses there is one of the most defining experiences of the event, and it explains why the festival chose the word "pietra" (stone) as the first element of its name.

Memory as a common thread

Each edition dedicates space to the memory of two late poets: Maurizio Marotta, an author from Salerno who passed away in 2020, and Andrea Leone, a poet from Pietravairano after whom the student literary prize is named. This is a strong identity trait: the festival does not only celebrate the poetry written today, but also keeps alive the voices of those who told the stories of these places before.

Who it is for

Pietra Poesia is a village-scale event, perfect for those seeking slow, uncrowded cultural tourism. Visitors from outside the region can combine the festival days with a visit to the Medio Volturno area: the district's castles, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Vigna, and the rustic cuisine of the Alto Casertano—made of local vegetables, olive oil, legumes, and cheeses—naturally round off the weekend.