Rarrəca Festival
The festival of books and resilient culture in the inland areas, in Caggiano
About Rarrəca
A festival of resilient culture in the heart of the Tanagro Valley
The Rarrəca Festival is a review dedicated to books and critical culture held in Caggiano, a village perched on a rocky spur overlooking the Tanagro Valley, in the province of Salerno, Campania. Born in 2025, the festival brings two days of meetings, exhibitions, performances, and workshops to the town's historic center, designed to build spaces for listening and dialogue in territories often left on the margins of major cultural circuits.
The name: Rarrəca, meaning root
The name of the event comes from the local dialect and recalls the word root: a deep bond with the territory and its history, but also the idea of a root that does not remain isolated and grows by connecting with its surroundings. It is a statement of intent that clearly explains the spirit of the event, built entirely around the relationship between those who remain in the inland areas and those who arrive from outside.
The 2026 edition: commons and water
The second edition was held on June 26 and 27, 2026, titled "COMMONS – Water: stories, conflicts, sacredness, memories." Two days of meetings, exhibitions, and workshops dedicated to water as a common good, the environmental crisis, and forms of community participation, in a town that makes the depopulation of inland areas its core theme.
- Presentations and dialogues with authors Chiara Barzini and Alessandra Castellazzi, the latter with her novel La radura;
- A talk by geographer Francesco Visentin, a landscape scholar;
- The performance Percorsi d'acqua by dancer and actress Martina Ricciardi;
- The photography exhibition Capitalocene: cartoline dalla crisi climatica by Michele Lapini;
- A meeting on translation with Giuseppe Maria Marmo and Francesca Romanelli, together with the publishing house Narhval edizioni.
Rarrəca Kid and workshops
Part of the program is reserved for children with Rarrəca Kid, the section offering permaculture workshops and educational activities led by educators and pedagogues. For adults, the festival organizes the creative writing course Scrivere tra le onde, led by writer Giancarlo Piacci, and the participatory workshops PaGiNe D'aCqUa. It is a deliberate choice: not just author meetings, but practices to do together, because culture here is first and foremost a community exercise.
The venues: Piazza del Plebiscito and the Norman Castle
The events take place in the historic center of Caggiano, between Piazza del Plebiscito and the spaces around the Norman Castle of Guiscardo. The festival has a habit of reactivating the town's forgotten places—squares, open spaces, long-closed premises—transforming them into reading rooms, exhibition spaces, and open-air stages: already in the preview of the first edition, the historic square, the Church of SS. Salvatore, and an old disused bar were recovered.
Who organizes it
Behind the review is an informal collective born from the meeting between two booksellers from the Ubik bookstore in Naples and a group of young people living permanently in Caggiano and nearby towns. The Auletta Casa Mia committee, the Mòvesi APS association, and the txi_libri bookstore collaborate on the organization, with the patronage of the Municipality of Caggiano. Among the early promoters are Simona Cafaro, Francesco Castellucci, Giancarlo Piacci, and Marco Raio.
Why go
Rarrəca is not a traditional literary festival: it is a cultural project that combines independent publishing, visual arts, theater, and music to tell the story of the inland areas of the South from their own perspective. Those who arrive in Caggiano find a town of a few thousand inhabitants that becomes a place of debate for two days, with free admission to all events and a dimension of hospitality that is an integral part of the experience. An opportunity to discover a less-traveled corner of Campania, between the Apennines and the Tanagro plain.
Rarrəca — edition 2026
Rarrəca 2026: water as a common good
For its second edition, the Rarrəca Festival chose a theme that speaks directly to the inland areas: "COMMONS – Water: stories, conflicts, sacredness, memories." On June 26 and 27, 2026, the historic center of Caggiano, in the province of Salerno, was filled with meetings, exhibitions, and workshops centered on water, the climate crisis, and the ways a community can take care of what belongs to everyone.
Guests included authors Chiara Barzini and Alessandra Castellazzi, the latter with her novel La radura, and geographer Francesco Visentin, a landscape scholar. Photographer Michele Lapini brought the exhibition Capitalocene: cartoline dalla crisi climatica, while dancer and actress Martina Ricciardi performed Percorsi d'acqua, which transformed spectators from passive observers into moving bodies.
Much space was dedicated to workshops: Rarrəca Kid with its permaculture ateliers for children, the creative writing course Scrivere tra le onde led by Giancarlo Piacci, and the participatory activities PaGiNe D'aCqUa. There was also a meeting on translation with Giuseppe Maria Marmo and Francesca Romanelli, together with the publishing house Narhval edizioni.
The festival is promoted by an informal collective that brings together two booksellers from the Ubik in Naples and young residents in Caggiano and surroundings, with the Auletta Casa Mia committee, the Mòvesi APS association, and the txi_libri bookstore, and with the patronage of the Municipality of Caggiano.
Programme Rarrəca 2026
Friday, June 26, 2026
- Opening of the photography exhibition Capitalocene: cartoline dalla crisi climatica by Michele Lapini
- Performance Percorsi d'acqua by and with Martina Ricciardi, dancer and actress
- Meetings and dialogues on the theme of the commons with authors, publishers, and scholars
Saturday, June 27, 2026
- Rarrəca Kid: permaculture workshops and educational activities for children, curated by educators and pedagogues
- Scrivere tra le onde: creative writing workshop with Giancarlo Piacci
- PaGiNe D'aCqUa: participatory workshop
- Presentation of the novel La radura by Alessandra Castellazzi
- Meeting with Chiara Barzini
- Dialogue with geographer Francesco Visentin on water and landscape
- Meeting on translation with Giuseppe Maria Marmo and Francesca Romanelli, with Narhval edizioni
The events took place in the historic center of Caggiano, between Piazza del Plebiscito and the spaces around the Norman Castle of Guiscardo. Precise times for individual meetings were released by the organizers on the festival's social channels.
Highlights Rarrəca 2026
- The 2026 theme: "COMMONS – Water: stories, conflicts, sacredness, memories"
- The photography exhibition Capitalocene: cartoline dalla crisi climatica by Michele Lapini
- The performance Percorsi d'acqua by Martina Ricciardi
- Rarrəca Kid, permaculture workshops for children
- The creative writing workshop Scrivere tra le onde with Giancarlo Piacci
- Meetings with Chiara Barzini, Alessandra Castellazzi, and Francesco Visentin
Prices Rarrəca 2026
Practical information — Rarrəca
How to get there
Caggiano is located in the province of Salerno, on the heights overlooking the Tanagro Valley. By car, it can be reached from the A2 "del Mediterraneo" motorway, exiting at one of the valley stations (Sicignano degli Alburni, Petina, Polla), then continuing along local roads that climb up to the village. Train connections are possible on the Salerno-Potenza line, but the final stretch must be covered by car or local buses.
Admission and reservations
All festival events are free of charge. The Rarrəca Kid children's workshops and creative writing courses have limited spots: it is advisable to inquire in advance with the organizers.
Where to park and eat
The historic center is pedestrianized and easy to explore on foot; parking is available at the entrance to the town. For lunch and dinner, you can rely on the few local establishments in the village and businesses in the area, which work at full capacity during the festival days: booking is recommended.
Information
For information and to support the project, you can write to the organizers at [email protected], or contact the Municipality of Caggiano.
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Where does it take place — Rarrəca
Centro storico — Piazza del Plebiscito e Castello Normanno del Guiscardo
Piazza del Plebiscito, 84030 Caggiano