Santa Maria a Valogno Crespelle Festival

The Crespelle Festival in Santa Maria a Valogno

Every summer, the square of Santa Maria a Valogno, a tiny hamlet in the municipality of Sessa Aurunca in the province of Caserta, fills for one night with the unmistakable aroma of frying dough. This is the Crespelle Festival, an event the local Pro Loco dedicates to the most iconic treat of this mountain village, located over 300 metres above sea level in the Aurunci Mountains, just a few kilometres from the border with lower Lazio.

What are crespelle?

In the local Valogno culinary lexicon, crespelle are not crêpes: they are traditional, strictly fried doughnuts, prepared according to a family recipe and served piping hot. They are enjoyed sweet, simply dusted with sugar, or in a savoury version, and pair perfectly with a glass of Falerno, the historic wine of the Aurunci area produced on the hills of Sessa Aurunca. It is festive cooking in its most popular form: simple ingredients, hot oil, and immediate conviviality.

More than just crespelle

Alongside the signature dish, the Pro Loco stands have always offered other local peasant traditions, which in past editions have included tripe, soffritto, beans, and potatoes: hearty, humble dishes rooted in mountain life and local family kitchens. The festival thus becomes a small repertoire of Aurunci flavours, preserved and passed down by a dedicated group of volunteers.

Music, songs, and traditional dances

The evening doesn't end at the table. As per tradition, the festival is brought to life by musical groups and traditional songs and dances from the Sessa area, turning the square into an open-air dance floor until late at night. This is the ingredient that makes the Crespelle Festival a true community celebration rather than a simple tasting event: eating, drinking, dancing, and catching up with fellow villagers who have returned for the summer.

A village summer

The festival is the highlight of the Valognese Summer, a calendar of events that the Pro Loco of S. Maria a Valogno has been building from June to August, which over the years has also been included in the Toraglie in Festa programme. The setting is that of the mountain villages of Sessa Aurunca, a cool and scenic area that offers a great alternative to the Domitian coast in summer: from the heights, the view sweeps over the Garigliano plain and, on clear days, all the way to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Why attend?

• Taste the crespelle, both sweet and savoury, in the village that made them famous.
• Discover the dishes of the Aurunci peasant cuisine at the Pro Loco stands.
• Dance in the square to the traditional songs and dances of the Sessa area.
• Spend an August evening in the mountain breeze, just a stone's throw from the Gulf of Gaeta.
• Experience an authentic corner of the province of Caserta, far from the most beaten tourist paths.