Spring Festival "Between Stories and Nature"

A spring festival in the heart of the Alto Casertano

The Spring Festival "Between Stories and Nature" is the event with which the Pro Loco of Roccaromana kicks off the beautiful season in this small town in the Monti Trebulani, in the province of Caserta, in the hinterland of Campania. It is neither a traditional food festival nor a series of shows: it is a day designed to let people walk through the landscape and the memory of the village, combining hiking, historical storytelling, and conviviality.

The meeting point is Piazza San Cataldo, the living room of Roccaromana's historic center, from where you climb towards Monte Castello. It is a simple and successful formula that brings walkers, families, and curious visitors from all over the Medio Volturno area on one of the most beautiful mornings of the year, when the hill's vegetation is already lush but the air is still fresh.

The excursion to the Norman Tower

The central moment of the festival is the guided excursion to the Norman Tower, which is reached by following an ancient path that winds through the mountain's vegetation. The route does not require any particular athletic preparation: just suitable shoes and a bit of stamina. In a short time, you pass from the stone houses of the village to the panoramic ridge, with a view that opens up over Monte Maggiore and, on clear days, as far as the Matese Mountains.

Along the way, volunteers and guides share stories about the area: the Mediterranean scrub and the woods, the ancient uses of the paths that connected the village to the heights, the history of the castle, and the small medieval settlement of which traces remain on the summit. This is where the event's title finds its meaning: stories and nature are not two separate themes, but the same landscape viewed up close.

Monte Castello, between tower and chapel

The tower of Roccaromana appears in documentary sources as early as 1101 and is one of the most recognizable monuments in the Alto Casertano. Built in stone with a circular plan and lacking battlements, it preserves traces of the fireplace, cistern, and staircase inside; an external walkway with a parapet allows you to walk around it while enjoying a 360-degree panorama. Next to it stands the church of the Madonna di Castello, a chapel of medieval origin linked to local devotion, which has been restored along with the tower and reopened to the public.

• Moderate elevation gain: the climb from the historic center is accessible to those who walk regularly
• Panorama: from the tower's square, the view embraces the Volturno valley and the surrounding peaks
• Heritage: the Norman tower and chapel form a rare complex, recognized as one of the area's points of interest

Return to the square and local flavors

After the descent, the day continues in the village with a convivial moment dedicated to local products. The cuisine of Roccaromana and its hamlets, Statigliano and Santa Croce, is the authentic fare of the Caserta hinterland, made of a few raw materials prepared with care:

• Gnocchi al tegamino — handmade gnocchi, seasoned with tomato sauce and pork, the village's signature dish
• Casuforte — aged goat cheese with a bold character, particularly linked to Statigliano
• Wood-fired pork shank — slow-cooked with potatoes, onions, and tomatoes
• Casavecchia — the native red wine of the Alto Casertano that naturally accompanies these dishes

Organizers

The event is promoted by the Pro Loco of Roccaromana, an association committed year-round to the protection and promotion of the village and its community, with the collaboration of the Pro Loco Infopoint of Rocchetta e Croce and the "Monte Maggiore" Mountain Community. The initiative is supported by the Municipality of Roccaromana, led by Mayor Nicola Pelosi.

Why it's worth the trip

Roccaromana has just over eight hundred inhabitants and does not appear on mass tourism circuits: precisely for this reason, the Spring Festival is a precious opportunity to discover a piece of inland Campania that tells its own story, without filters. Visitors will find a historic center of narrow alleys and stone houses, a mountain to climb on foot, a still-surprising medieval monument, and a generous table. All this less than an hour's drive from Caserta and its Royal Palace, in an area also recognized for its naturalistic value.