Saint Nicholas of Bari Patronal Feast and Santa Claus Descent

The festival that kicks off the Irpinian Christmas

In Forino, a small town in the Province of Avellino nestled at the foot of the Picentini Mountains, the festive calendar has one fixed date: December 6th, the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Bari, the town's patron saint. In Campania, this date symbolically marks the start of the Christmas season, and in Forino, it does so in a particularly iconic way: for over forty years, the religious dimension of the patronal feast has been intertwined with the Santa Claus Descent from the hill named after the saint.

Saint Nicholas, patron of Forino

The cult of Saint Nicholas of Myra, later known as Saint Nicholas of Bari following the translation of his relics in 1087, is deeply rooted in the Forino area. The Sanctuary of San Nicola stands on the hill of the Castello hamlet, next to the remains of the medieval village, and remains the devotional heart of the community. On December 6th, celebrations are held between the Church of Santo Stefano in the town center and the hilltop sanctuary, where a solemn mass is celebrated featuring a panegyric of the saint.

The Santa Claus Descent

Since 1983, the LIBERTAS Forino association has organized what is now the most anticipated event of the Forino winter. At nightfall, a horse-drawn sleigh departs from the foot of the San Nicola hill in the Castello hamlet and slowly descends toward the valley floor: it passes through Celzi, then Petruro, and finally arrives in the center of Forino at Piazza Tigli, traveling along via Due Principati, via Mazzini, via Provinciale, via Annunziata, and via Roma. Throughout the journey, Santa Claus distributes sweets and candies to the children lining the sidewalks with their families. In recent editions, the departure has taken place around 6:45 PM, with arrival in the square around 8:00 PM, followed by the opening of the Christmas markets.

The village, markets, and stalls

• Christmas Markets set up in town immediately after the sleigh's arrival, featuring local crafts and products
• Santa Claus Village in Petruro, offered in recent editions on the following day, with games, entertainment for children, and food stalls
• Illuminations and decorations along the route, managed by local associations
• Free and open participation for all street-level activities

A year dedicated to the patron saint

Forino's devotion to Saint Nicholas does not end in December. On March 14th, the congregations go on a pilgrimage from the Church of Santo Stefano to the sanctuary; from May to October, the sanctuary hosts periodic masses celebrated by the rector; on August 1st, the evocative descent into the city of the saint's statue is renewed, carried on shoulders by young people along a six-hour route through the hamlets—a tradition linked to the cholera outbreak of 1866, accompanied by a torchlight procession. The statue then remains in town for weeks before the return procession to Castello. The December 6th festival ideally closes this devotional cycle.

Forino, the city of the seven hills

With just over five thousand inhabitants and an altitude of about 429 meters, Forino is located about ten kilometers from Avellino, in a green basin enclosed by peaks such as Mount San Nicola, Mount Romola, and Mount Esca. The municipal territory is organized around the main town and the three historic hamlets of Castello, Celzi, and Petruro: this scattered geography gives meaning to the Descent, which reconnects the entire community in a single night of celebration. Visitors will find a typically Irpinian setting, made of chestnut groves, vineyards, and mountain cuisine, in an inland Campania that is very different from the coastal region.

Why it's worth attending

It is an authentic village festival, without tickets or imposing stages: you stand in the street, wait for the sleigh in the cold, applaud as it passes, and end up in the square among lights and stalls. For families with children, it is one of the simplest and most beautiful ways to start Christmas in Irpinia.