Podolica Festival

Pescopagano celebrates the Podolica

Amidst the pastures and woods of alta Basilicata, on the border with Irpinia, Pescopagano — a municipality in the province of Potenza — hosts a festival that is unique in its kind: the Podolica Festival, the first event in Italy entirely dedicated to the Podolica cattle breed. A rustic and ancient cow, raised semi-wild, which from its milk and meat offers some of the most prized products of the territory.

The taste of tradition: from caciocavallo to meat

The absolute star is the smoked podolico caciocavallo, a symbolic cheese of Lucanian pastoral culture, alongside DOP cheeses, cavatelli with horseradish, "bombe di toro" (Lucanian-style veal meatloaf), tartares, fried pizzas, and grilled meats. A journey of taste that tells the entire supply chain, from the stable to the table.

Re-enactments and rural culture

The festival is not just about gastronomy: organized by the Pratica...mente association, it offers historical re-enactments of the agricultural trades of the past, from threshing to milking, to the manual production of stretched-curd cheeses. Photographic exhibitions on local agricultural history complete an experience that values peasant memory and the deep bond between Pescopagano and its land.