Reino Traditional Costume Day

A celebration of identity in the Benevento Sannio

Some villages preserve their past in museums, while others keep it in their home wardrobes. Reino, a village of just over a thousand inhabitants perched at 450 meters in the province of Benevento, belongs to the latter: almost every local family still guards a piece of their traditional costume—a skirt, bodice, shawl, or sash—passed down through generations. Reino Traditional Costume Day was born from this very idea: to bring those garments out of the houses for one night and return them to the town square where they belong.

The initiative is promoted by the municipal administration alongside the Universitas Terrae Reginae APS association and the 'A Ziarella cultural group. It takes place during the mid-August festivities, when the village is repopulated by emigrants and families returning for the holidays. It is the time of year when a small community becomes large again, and it is no coincidence that it was chosen for a festival that speaks of belonging.

The Reino costume: the vunnèlla, the bodice, and the ziarella

The women's costume of Reino dates back to the 18th century and is distinguished by a few essential yet unmistakable elements:

• the vunnèlla, a wide pleated wool skirt;
• the rigid bodice, featuring intricate stitching and embroidery, worn over a shirt;
• the scolla and shawl that complete the torso;
• and above all, the ziarella, a colorful fabric sash tied at the waist, whose colors and embroidery changed according to the wearer's marital status: a silent language that told the village whether a woman was single or married.

The folk group 'A Ziarella, active since the 1980s, takes its name from this detail. They have brought Reino's songs, dances, and costumes to squares across Italy and abroad, from Romania to the United States. Local memory also recalls that the Reino costume was featured in Naples during the commemorations for Charles III of Bourbon, and that artisans from San Gregorio Armeno even dedicated a figurine to it.

The parade and the folk evening

The heart of the event is simple and, for that reason, effective. In the late afternoon, the people of Reino gather in Piazza Castello, at the foot of the remains of the medieval castle rebuilt in the Norman and Renaissance eras. From there, the costume parade sets off, winding through the historic center to the town square. There is no jury and no catwalk: entire families, children, teenagers, and the elderly—who remember seeing their grandmothers wear these clothes—walk together.

The evening concludes with traditional Sannio folk songs and dances, tarantellas, and rhythms that the 'A Ziarella group makes accessible even to those unfamiliar with them. It is the kind of evening where the passing visitor very quickly stops being a spectator.

The mural and the permanent costume display

The 2025 edition left the village with two lasting marks. On Viale Kennedy, the mural «The Marriage of the Ancient Samnites» was inaugurated, created by artist Lorenzo Crippa on behalf of Universitas Terrae Reginae: a tribute to the Samnite roots of this corner of Campania, the land of the Pentri Samnites before the Romans. At Palazzo Meomartini, the municipal seat, a permanent exhibition case for the traditional Reino costume was set up by 'A Ziarella, featuring historical garments from the late 19th and early 20th centuries: a small museum space that can be visited even outside of festival days.

Reino, a Samnite village along the sheep track

The municipality of Reino is located in the upper Benevento Sannio in an ancient position: the Pescasseroli-Candela sheep track, one of the great transhumance routes that for centuries linked Abruzzo to Puglia through these hills, passed through here. The first records of the site date back to the 7th century. The landscape is that of the Campanian hinterland, less beaten by tourism: olive groves, vineyards, stone villages, and the Tammaro and Titerno valleys nearby. Those who arrive here find a different Campania from the coast—quiet and agricultural.

The 2026 edition

The event is part of the August festivities in Reino, traditionally linked to Saint Anthony of Padua, who is celebrated in the village on August 13th. At the time of our check, however, no official date has been published for 2026: we recommend checking the notices of the Municipality of Reino and the channels of local associations in the days leading up to Ferragosto.