Pizza Figliata Festival in the Village of Partignano

A festival in the heart of the village of Partignano

Every year in early December, Partignano—a small hamlet of Pignataro Maggiore in the Campania region—transforms into a large open-air workshop. The Pizza Figliata Festival is a neighborhood celebration created to preserve and share a pastry passed down through generations: the pizza figliata. The event takes place along Via Castelluccio, the street crossing the historic district, with stalls set up in both indoor and outdoor village spaces.

This is not a commercial fair, but a popular feast built by the residents: families open their courtyards, experienced local women knead dough in front of visitors, and volunteers serve samples and drinks. The result is a community-scale event, perfect for families, where social connection is just as important as the food.

The pizza figliata, a De.Co. pastry of Pignataro Maggiore

The pizza figliata is a thin pastry roll made with white wine and oil, filled with walnuts, honey, and citrus, rolled into a spiral, and shaped into a ring before baking. The name refers to its 'offspring' (figliata) shape, as the long roll seems to sprout additional coils. It is a rich, substantial dessert that requires a few days of resting before consumption to allow the flavors to meld.

Its roots lie in the peasant cuisine of the Agro Caleno and the Middle Volturno valley. Local historians link its ingredients—walnuts and honey—to preparations common in ancient Capua, dating its current form back to the Middle Ages with clear Mediterranean influences. Traditionally, the pizza figliata is prepared for the feast of Saint Vitus the Martyr on the third Sunday of September, when fresh walnuts have just been harvested. In 2012, the Municipality of Pignataro Maggiore awarded it the De.Co. (Municipal Denomination), recognizing it as a gastronomic and cultural heritage of the territory.

Workshops, tastings, and local products

The heart of the festival is the pizza figliata workshop: local women demonstrate the process step-by-step, from rolling the dough and adding the filling to shaping the spiral, sharing the small secrets learned only through experience. Attendees can follow the entire preparation and taste the freshly baked pastry.

• Tasting of the pizza figliata in the traditional neighborhood style
• Samples of local products from the Agro Caleno
• Pairings with local wines
• Traditional folk music along the village streets
• Charity initiatives promoted by local neighborhood associations

Who organizes the event

The festival is promoted by the Saint Vitus the Martyr and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Festival Committee, which also manages the September patronal celebrations, in collaboration with the Arianova cultural association and L'Officina dell'Amore. The parish of Saint Vitus the Martyr participates with an opening blessing. The organization is entirely volunteer-based, and proceeds support the committee's activities and local charity initiatives.

When it takes place

The event is held annually between late November and early December over a single weekend. The thirteenth edition took place on November 30 and December 1, 2024, while the fourteenth was held on December 6 and 7, 2025. On Saturdays, the festivities begin in the late afternoon, while on Sundays, they start at noon, allowing visitors to combine lunch with a stroll through the village. The dates for the new edition are announced by the committee in the preceding weeks, usually via their social media page and local Caserta press.

Around the festival

Pignataro Maggiore is located in the plain between the Volturno River and the Monte Maggiore hills, a short distance from Capua and the archaeological site of ancient Capua. A visit to the festival can easily be combined with a tour of the Agro Caleno towns, where the tradition of walnut and honey-based sweets remains very much alive. In December, with the holiday lights already glowing, the village takes on an intimate atmosphere that makes the experience even more pleasant.