Porcus Festival

The Porcus Festival, the pork celebration in the heart of Sannio

Every spring, Puglianello, a small town in the province of Benevento, Campania, dedicates three full days to peasant cuisine and the absolute star of Sannio rural tradition: the pig. The Porcus Festival is not just another food festival; it was born from a cultural project rather than a purely gastronomic one: to recover the knowledge, gestures, and stories surrounding home-rearing, one of the rare customs that the agricultural world has jealously guarded even after the arrival of mass distribution.

The event is organized by the Nuovo Centro Studi Puglianello, a local association dedicated to preserving the territory's memory, and takes place in the historic village at the foot of the Castle, along Via Paribella and in the space in front of Casa Marchitto. Admission is free, and the areas are covered, ensuring the festival goes ahead even in case of rain.

From 'A Fest du Puorc' to Porcus Festival

Before adopting the Latin name it is known by today, the festival was called 'A Fest du Puorc' in the local dialect. The name change has not altered its spirit: it continues to tell the story of the peasant civilization of the Volturno Valley through food, music, and conviviality. Here, the pig is not an industrial raw material, but the animal raised at home, which marked the year for families and guaranteed provisions for the cold months. From that domestic economy come the recipes tasted today at the stalls: nothing was wasted, everything became a dish.

What to eat

The heart of the festival is the food stalls, where pork is offered in all its variations: grilled, stewed, or as cured meats. The menu of recent editions includes:

• First courses: gnocchi with pork rinds, fusilli with asparagus and guanciale;
• Grilled meats: sausage, pork chop, pancetta, and liver, served with sides;
• Traditional specialties: cotechino soup with fava beans and leeks, meat with peppers, meatballs in sauce, fried pizza, porchetta with toasted bread, and boards of cheeses and cured meats;
• Desserts and drinks: homemade desserts, beer, soft drinks, and Taburno wines produced in the nearby hills.

Portions are generous and prices remain the popular ones typical of village festivals: you eat sitting at communal tables, with the slow, chatty rhythm typical of Sannio celebrations.

Folk music, group dances, and exhibitions

Each evening is accompanied by live folk music, featuring bands linked to the Campanian folk repertoire, traditional songs, and group dances that involve the village squares. Sunday is dedicated to the Neapolitan posteggia, the wandering song that moves between tables during lunch and dinner. Alongside the music, the program has hosted, in various editions, entertainment, art exhibitions set up in the town's historic spaces — particularly at Casa Marchitto — and guided tours of local farms.

Puglianello and the Volturno Valley

Puglianello has just over a thousand inhabitants and is located on the left bank of the Volturno, in that strip of the Benevento province that connects the Telesina Valley to the slopes of the Taburno. It is a land of vineyards, vegetable gardens, and small villages, where festivals remain the main meeting point for the community. The Castle, which dominates the ancient core, acts as a natural backdrop to the event and makes the walk between the stalls part of the experience.

Why it's worth the trip

The Porcus Festival is one of the best opportunities to understand how people ate — and still eat — in the Sannio countryside, without concessions to postcard-style folklore. It is a festival suitable for families and groups: Sunday, with its lunch opening, is the most convenient time for those arriving from outside the province who want to combine the stop with a tour of Telese Terme, Sant'Agata de' Goti, and other villages in the area.