Saint Mark the Evangelist Patronal Feast

The community's most significant event

The Municipality of Manocalzati states it clearly on its official website: the feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist, the town's patron saint, is arguably the most significant event for the community. It is not just a single evening, but a cycle of celebrations that typically runs from April 16th to 25th, actively involving not only residents but also numerous visitors, including many former residents who return to the village specifically for the occasion.

Manocalzati has a population of just under three thousand and sits at an altitude of about 450 meters in the Sabato Valley, a stone's throw from Avellino and Atripalda: it is one of those Irpinian communities where the patronal feast still acts as a true social glue, marking the year more than any other recurrence.

The religious program

The liturgical structure is well-established and repeats year after year around the parish of Saint Mark the Evangelist. The journey begins with the preparatory novena, which opens around April 16th, and continues with several appointments that have become tradition:

• the Student Day, with a Holy Mass dedicated to students, teachers, and school staff;
• the celebration presided over by the Bishop of Avellino, a solemn moment of the entire cycle;
• Saint Mark in the Suburbs, the procession of the patron's statue through the peripheral areas of the parish, designed to bring the feast outside the town center;
• the Solemn Triduum preached by the parish priest;
• April 25th, the saint's day, with Holy Masses in the morning and afternoon and the procession through the town streets following the 6:00 PM Eucharistic celebration, with the participation of all confraternities and parish associations.

Liturgical singing is provided by the Saint Mark choir, which accompanies the main celebrations.

Civil festivities in Piazza Fiorentino Sullo

Alongside the religious aspect, the civil program has always run, centered in Piazza Fiorentino Sullo, the heart of the town. The illuminations, the brass band touring the streets with the traditional morning parade, and the evening concerts make up the festive face of the event.

In the 2024 edition, for example, the civil lineup featured the Nostalgia '90 group with Tony Rocco DJ on the eve of the feast and a concert by Gigione on the evening of April 25th, while the "Città di Ailano" band arrived in the morning for the town tour. Years earlier, in 2010, the same square hosted I Nomadi: a sign of how the festival knows how to raise the bar and attract audiences from all over Irpinia.

Manocalzati, the castle, and the Sabato Valley

The festival is also a great opportunity to discover a village that can be visited in half a day. The San Barbato Castle, a fortification of Lombard origin whose first structures date back to the 7th-8th century, dominates the hamlet of the same name; the parish church of Saint Mark the Evangelist, severely damaged by the 1980 earthquake and later restored, houses the patron's statue; and the curious Museum of the Transverse Flute preserves about forty historical instruments, a rare collection in the Campania region.

Surrounding it, the Sabato Valley and the Avellino basin offer the usual Irpinian backdrop: Fiano and Greco wineries just a few kilometers away, generous tables, and a hilly landscape that is at its best in April.

Organizers

The event is managed by the Saint Mark the Evangelist Feast Committee, which handles the civil aspects and fundraising among the population, and the Saint Mark the Evangelist Parish for the religious celebrations. The Municipality of Manocalzati sponsors and promotes the event, which remains free and open to the public in all its components.

When to go

The key day is always April 25th, the liturgical date of Saint Mark: those who can only stay for one day should choose this one, between the late afternoon procession and the evening concert in the square. Those who want to capture a more intimate and local atmosphere should arrive a few days earlier, when the novena and triduum fill the church and the town begins to light up the illuminations.