Schiapparelli Tournament

The most cheerful tournament in the Valle Caudina

Every summer, in Montesarchio, in the province of Benevento, the Schiapparelli Tournament transforms the elementary school's outdoor gym into a small neighborhood stadium. This is not a professional event; it is a staple of local social life, one of those evenings where the town gathers, children play, and parents cheer from the stands. The local press in the Valle Caudina has dubbed it the "most cheerful tournament" in the region, a formula that has remained unchanged for over thirty years.

Since 1990, a grassroots tradition

The tournament was founded in 1990 by a group of friends from Montesarchio who later formed a non-profit association: Gli Amici dello Schiapparelli. Since then, the event has been held every summer, and 2016 marked its 27th edition, a testament to a continuity rarely achieved by amateur local sporting events. The association, based on Corso Caudino, is now a sporting and socio-cultural entity active well beyond the two weeks of the tournament.

Who plays: children aged 6 to 13 and adults who are "burst or never-bloomed"

The format is intentionally popular and intergenerational. Two different worlds take to the field:

• children aged 6 to 13, for whom the tournament is often their first team experience in front of a real audience;
• adults, self-deprecatingly called by the organizers "burst or never-bloomed" footballers: amateurs, former neighborhood prospects, and people who play simply for the love of the game.

It is the "irony of football," as the organizers call it: the result matters little, participation matters much. Over the years, the evenings have been enriched with music and entertainment, ensuring that even those who don't follow football have a reason to stop by the gym after dinner.

Sport as a fundraiser

The true engine of the Schiapparelli Tournament is charity. The funds raised during the event are donated to religious institutions, schools, and socially committed organizations. The association's commitment does not end with the tournament: in June 2025, Gli Amici dello Schiapparelli donated an automated external defibrillator to the community, installed on Via Domenici, accompanied by a plaque reading "The value of life is the greatest gift." In May 2026, they participated in the third edition of the "Partita del Cuore" at the "Armando Allegretto" stadium, alongside the Cps Libertas Benevento and the Youth Forum of Cervinara.

The tournament in the Montesarchio summer calendar

The Schiapparelli Tournament is one of the most recognizable fixtures of the Montesarchio summer, presented each year by the Municipality of Montesarchio alongside the rest of the program: the Romantic Night in the Borgo Santo Spirito and the Lombard Festival at the Tower in June, the Caudium Beer Fest and the Beer Festival, "Giorni al Borgo," the Carolino Festival, "Porte d'autore nel Borgo," literary meetings, and the children's festival "Estate a Colori." A calendar that stretches from June to the end of September, making Montesarchio one of the most vibrant centers in inland Campania.

Montesarchio and the Valle Caudina

With nearly 13,000 inhabitants, Montesarchio is the second-largest municipality in the province of Benevento and the natural gateway to the Valle Caudina, the basin between Sannio and Irpinia dominated by Mount Taburno. The old town climbs up to the Tower and the Castle, while the National Archaeological Museum of Sannio Caudino preserves ceramics from ancient Caudium. An evening at the Schiapparelli Tournament is also a great excuse to discover this corner of Campania, far from the most beaten tourist paths.