Sannio Between Flavours and Folklore - In the Footsteps of the Wheat Road (Provincial Festival of the Pro Loco of Sannio)

A festival that brings together all the Pro Loco of Sannio

The Provincial Festival of the Pro Loco of Sannio is not just another local food festival: it is the annual event where the UNPLI Benevento Provincial Committee gathers the dozens of Pro Loco associations that bring the villages of the Province of Benevento to life in one place. Each association arrives with its own stand, its own products, and its own costumed groups: the result is a compact showcase of everything Sannio has to offer, from peasant cuisine to craftsmanship, from folk music to historical re-enactments. For the 2026 edition, the event was hosted by the Municipality of Foglianise, in Campania, in the setting of Piazza Fiamme Gialle.

The theme: in the footsteps of the Wheat Road

The subtitle of the Foglianise edition, «In the Footsteps of the Wheat Road», is more than just a slogan. Wheat is the common thread chosen by the organizers as a symbol of work, tradition, culture, and connection to the land: an element that has shaped landscapes, crafts, and festive calendars in Sannio. The inaugural conference, educational workshops, and a large part of the gastronomic offerings, from ancient grains to traditional pasta, revolve around this theme.

The food and wine village

The delicious heart of the festival opens every evening at 8:00 PM with the Food and Wine Village: dozens of stands managed by the Pro Loco offer traditional first courses, meats, cured meats and cheeses, pizzas and bruschetta, typical desserts, artisanal liqueurs, preserves, olive oil, and DOC wines from Sannio, one of the most extensive wine-growing territories in Campania. Alongside the food, there is an artisanal village featuring ceramics and local products.

Folklore, quadrilles, and historical pageants

The spectacular part of the event is entrusted to local groups. In 2026, the Gruppo Folk A Funtanella, Portetnica, the Gruppo Folk Fontanavecchia, the Gruppo Folk Fortuna Folianensis, and the Orchestrina Sanamalocchio took turns on stage and in the streets, along with the quadrille and tarantella of the Pago Veiano Pro Loco and the historical pageants of the Pro Loco of Airola, Mons Militum, and Apice. The evenings conclude with DJ sets until late at night.

Workshops and ancient crafts

Before the shows, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM, educational workshops designed for families take place: straw weaving with the Foglianise Pro Loco, the patata nterrata (buried potato) with the Cepino Prata Pro Loco, the Taburno cherry with the Monte Taburno Pro Loco, and the story of wheat told through the Kamishibai technique by the Apice Pro Loco together with Slow Food. These are moments where you can see the techniques of wheat processing, cheese making, and sausage production in action.

Foglianise, the village of wheat floats

The choice of Foglianise as the venue is no coincidence: this village of just over three thousand inhabitants at the foot of the Taburno mountains is known throughout Italy for its Wheat Festival in August, when floats and obelisks woven from straw — reproductions of monuments and churches — parade on August 16th in honor of Saint Roch, a devotion rooted in the plague of 1656 and documented as far back as the eighteenth century. Hosting the provincial festival «in the footsteps of the Wheat Road» therefore means playing at home, in a village where straw is an art form passed down from generation to generation.

A recognized event

The event has received the special mention «UNPLI Quality Event», presented at the Senate of the Republic, and the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture; representatives of the Campania Region and provincial institutions attended the evenings, confirming the role that the Pro Loco network plays in the tourism promotion of inland areas.

A venue that can change

It should be remembered that the Provincial Festival of the Pro Loco of Sannio is a traveling event: the venue varies from year to year among the municipalities of the province (in 2025 it was held in Paduli). For 2026 the choice fell on Foglianise, but it is always advisable to check the location of the next edition on the UNPLI Benevento channels.