The Campanaccio of San Mauro Forte

The village that rings

There is a moment, in mid-January, when San Mauro Forte ceases to be a quiet village in the Matera hills and becomes a single, deafening instrument. These are the days of the Campanaccio, one of the most powerful and identity-defining popular rites in Basilicata: teams of bell-ringers, men and women of all ages, cross the streets of the historic center making large cattle bells and ancient cupa cupa (a terracotta pot covered with goat skin) resound. The sound is deafening, hypnotic, and spreads for hours from one alley to another, invading every corner of the village.

A rite between Saint Anthony Abbot and the Great Mother

Today the festival is dedicated to Saint Anthony Abbot, protector of animals and the farming world, celebrated on January 17th. But the roots of the rite go much deeper, into ancient agro-pastoral societies and fertility and propitiation cults linked to the land. The din of the cowbells had and still has an apotropaic value: it was used to drive away the "Darkness", evil, and the winter that was ending, and to ensure the fertility of the fields and the abundance of harvests. For this reason, scholars see in it the echo of pre-Christian vegetation rites, in which noise itself was a purifying force.

San Mauro Forte and its history

The town has origins linked to the Norman colonization of the 11th century; the adjective "Forte" was added in 1861 in memory of the strenuous resistance put up by the population against brigand bands. The Campanaccio has been the heart of San Mauro's identity for decades, so much so that the Region of Basilicata and the Ministry of Culture have recognized the importance of this tradition, including it among the great popular rites of the Lucanian calendar.

The atmosphere

What strikes you most is the involvement: the Campanaccio is not a spectacle to be watched, it is a rite to be participated in. Visitors from outside almost always end up picking up a cowbell and joining the teams, letting themselves be carried away by the collective rhythm. Between one parade and another, the historic center comes alive with food and wine stands, light installations, exhibitions, and concerts, in a program that each year intertwines peasant memory and contemporary art.