Tammorra Festival

The drum that unites a town

There is a sound in Campania that has never stopped beating: that of the tammorra, the large frame drum with tin jingles that has accompanied the songs and dances of farming communities for centuries. In Parete, a small town in the Province of Caserta overlooking the plains between the Agro Aversano and the Giugliano area, that rhythm becomes a town festival open to everyone every spring: the Tammorra Festival, organized by the La Tenda Association.

It is not a concert to be listened to while seated. It is an explicit invitation to enter the circle, to let yourself be guided by the rhythm, and to rediscover the collective value of tradition: those who arrive as spectators almost always end up dancing.

Eleven editions, from the square to the Villa Comunale

Born as a single evening in Piazza Berlinguer, the festival has grown year after year to become one of the defining events of the Parete calendar. In 2026, it reaches its eleventh edition with two major innovations: the move to the Villa Comunale, transformed into a natural open-air theater, and the expansion of the program to two days instead of just one evening.

The change of venue is not just a logistical detail: the greenery of the villa allows for a larger audience, better distribution of food stands, and restores the wide space that the tammurriata needs—a space where the circle of dancers can open and close freely.

The 2026 program: eight paranze over two nights

The heart of the event is the paranze, the groups of musicians and dancers who each guard their own variant of the repertoire. In 2026, eight musical collectives from different provinces of Campania will take turns, in a dialogue that also serves as a small sonic map of the region.

• Friday, April 24: Paranza Marcianisana, Rareca Quartetto, 'A Sunagliera, I Figli di Cibele.
• Saturday, April 25: La Giuglianese di Peppino Di Febbraio, C'Antica Muronia, I Virtuosi della Tarantella and Pino Iove.

Among the names on the bill, Pino Iove stands out, a historic figure of the Campanian folk scene with over fifty years of activity and founder of the traditional event in Somma Vesuviana.

Tammurriata: what it really is

The tammurriata is not just another musical genre. It is a ritual form linked to the cycles of field work and Marian feasts, in which the "a figliola" singing, the beat of the tammorra, and the castanets intertwine with couple dancing. Every territory has its own: the one from the Agro Nocerino-Sarnese does not sound like the Vesuvian one, and neither resembles the variants of the Caserta hinterland or those bordering the lower Lazio region. Hearing them one after another in the same evening is the most direct way to understand how layered the Campanian folk culture is.

Street food, drinks, and stalls

Surrounding the stage is the area dedicated to street food, with options designed for all ages and a beverage service managed with Ceres beer among the festival partners. There is no shortage of craft stalls, where you can take home a souvenir of the evening: from handmade tammorre to small traditional objects.

Parete, the town of strawberries

The Tammorra Festival effectively opens the event season in Parete. The town is known throughout Campania for its strawberries, celebrated in May by the Strawberry Festival, and for the devotion to Maria Santissima della Rotonda, around which the local festive calendar revolves. In the same space of the villa, La Tenda also hosts Ecosummer in the summer, three days of music and activities. Those who arrive in April for the tammurriate will therefore find a town in full swing, just a few kilometers from Aversa and less than half an hour from Naples.

Who is it recommended for?

• Fans of folk music and ethnomusicology who want to hear multiple paranze at once.
• Families: the setting in the municipal villa is peaceful and the food area is designed for children as well.
• Those visiting the Aversa area looking for an authentic event, far from the most beaten tourist circuits.
• Those who want to learn how to dance the tammurriata: you enter the circle by watching and imitating; no lessons are needed.