The Night of the Kiss

A twelve-hundred-year-old legend

Some festivals are born from a saint, others from a local product. The Night of the Kiss in San Lorenzello, however, was born from a love story. Local tradition tells that about twelve hundred years ago, two young exiles, Filippo and Rosita, arrived in this corner of the Titerno Valley and sealed their bond with a passionate kiss lit by a passing shooting star. According to the legend, the first core of the village was born from that gesture. Every year, the community returns to celebrate it as a symbol of rebirth, love, and hope, on a mid-August evening that coincides with the sky full of shooting stars.

The ceramics village as a backdrop

The natural stage for the event is the historic center of San Lorenzello, a small town of just over two thousand inhabitants in the Province of Benevento, in Campania. Lights are turned on in the small square near the ancient walls, where popular memory says the original settlement of the town was located. All around, the narrow alleys tell a different but equally defining story: that of maiolica, which for centuries has linked San Lorenzello to nearby Cerreto Sannita, making it one of the historic centers of artistic ceramics in Southern Italy. Visitors arriving for the festival thus find two reasons to visit: the evening event and the workshops, churches, and decorated portals to be explored by day.

Music, folklore, and widespread art

The program of the Night of the Kiss is intentionally popular and cross-generational. Previous editions have featured live concerts and rural folklore, with the accordion as the star, performances by local young musicians, sets dedicated to 90s music, and an open-air disco to dance under the stars until late at night. Alongside the music, there is space for art and literature: exhibitions of drawings inspired by the legend, presentations of poetry collections, and the screening of a short film dedicated to Filippo and Rosita. It is a village festival formula, but built with care: the story of the origins is revisited and presented in new forms, year after year.

Sannio cuisine in the spotlight

As in every festival in the Sannio region, gastronomy is not just a side dish. The stands set up by local associations and businesses offer traditional country dishes: simple tomato and taralli salads, potato gateau, tagliolini pizza, stuffed peppers, stuffed anchovies, fried pizza, and pasta frittata. On the sweet side, there is the Torta Caprese, semifreddo, fruit tarts, and the famous baci (kisses) prepared by local pastry chefs, while the ovens and taralli bakeries of San Lorenzello bring to the square the bread and taralli that are a local specialty. The result is a tasting journey that is worth the trip alone.

The collective kiss

The ritual that gives the evening its name is the collective kiss: at a set time, couples, friends, and families kiss together in the square, as if repeating the gesture of the two young lovers from the legend. There is nothing solemn about it, and this is perhaps its greatest strength: the idea is to celebrate love in all its forms, including those visiting from outside. In past editions, the moment was accompanied by photo contests with selfie stations dedicated to the "most beautiful kiss" and, at midnight, by the live preparation of a shared dessert.

Who organizes it

The event is promoted by the Ente Culturale San Lorenzo Martire – Nicola Vigliotti, an association that for over forty years has been a point of reference for the cultural promotion of the Sannio territory and which also manages national literary and journalistic awards hosted at Palazzo Massone. The Night of the Kiss is, in the words of president Alfonso Guarino, "a festival born from the heart that speaks to the heart": a community event, built with the involvement of the town's associations, restaurateurs, and producers.

When to go

The event traditionally takes place in the first half of August, close to the night of San Lorenzo and the shooting stars—a combination that, in the town bearing the saint's name, is certainly no coincidence. The second edition took place on August 12, 2025. For the next edition, it is advisable to check the date on the channels of the Cultural Association and the Municipality of San Lorenzello before setting off.