The Peace of Santa Croce del Sannio

One of the oldest re-enactments in the Sannio region

In Santa Croce del Sannio, a village of just over eight hundred inhabitants perched at 689 meters above sea level in the Province of Benevento, Campania, Carnival doesn't end with confetti but with a jousting tournament. It is called La Pace and is one of the longest-running historical re-enactments in Southern Italy: the first document mentioning it is a royal decree from 1785, which linked the event to the livestock market scheduled for Shrove Tuesday. Not organizing it meant losing the weekly market, a vital economic resource for the community: since then, the festival has been held every year, with a single interruption in 1944 due to the war. In 2026, the village celebrated its 241st edition.

The legend of Maribella and Seudan

The story being performed dates back to the 9th century, when Saracen raids were sweeping through Southern Italy. Tradition tells that a Christian duke had called for a tournament to give his daughter Maribella in marriage to the most valiant knight, excluding the Saracens camped nearby because they were not baptized. Offended, their leader Seudan—identified by local memory as Sawdan, the Emir of Bari—challenged the duke to a duel. The clash was about to turn into a massacre when Maribella stepped forward and agreed to marry the Saracen on one condition: that he convert to Christianity. Seudan threw his scimitar to the ground, and peace was made.

This is where the festival gets its name: it is not a celebration of a battle, but of a reconciliation. A detail that makes 'La Pace' a unique case in the landscape of Italian re-enactments, which usually commemorate military victories.

The historical pageant and the equestrian tournament

The performance takes place outdoors, between Piazza Mercato and the streets of the historic center, involving dozens of local participants. The recurring elements of each edition are:

• the historical pageant, with ladies, nobles, soldiers, jesters, knights, and horses in medieval costumes;
• the equestrian tournament, alternating jousting with lances and sword fighting between the Christian and Saracen knights;
• the flag-wavers, whose movements are reconstructed based on depictions of war standard-bearers of the era;
• the ancient crafts, recreated in living tableaux along the route, alongside street performers;
• the musical instruments, all reconstructed according to medieval models.

Scorpelle and the wine of peace

At the end of the tournament, the municipal administration offers all attendees scorpelle, Carnival pastries made from flour, eggs, and potatoes, fried and shaped like roses, common between the Alto Tammaro area and nearby Molise. They are accompanied by the wine of peace, a collective toast that seals, every year anew, the reconciliation staged just hours before. It is the moment when the re-enactment finally dissolves into a village festival.

Part of the Sannio Pro Loco Carnival

The event is organized by the Pro Loco Santa Croce del Sannio with the patronage and support of the Municipality, and is part of the UNPLI Benevento Pro Loco Carnival program, which every year connects dozens of Pro Loco associations from the Fortore, Alto Tammaro, Titerno, and Valle Caudina areas. In 2026, the calendar ran from February 7th to 22nd with about thirty events, and 'La Pace' marked its conclusion. On the afternoon of the same day, allegorical floats from neighboring towns also parade, bringing the more traditional Carnival spirit to Santa Croce del Sannio.

When it takes place

The date follows the movable Carnival calendar. Originally, the re-enactment was held on Shrove Tuesday, as established by the 1785 decree; in recent editions, it has moved to the following Sunday, which is more convenient for the public and guest groups. In 2026, the event fell on Sunday, February 22nd; in 2025, on Sunday, March 9th; and in 2024, on Sunday, February 18th.

Santa Croce del Sannio, between Tammaro and Molise

The municipality is located in the northern part of the Province of Benevento, about forty kilometers from the regional capital, on the border with Molise: nearby are Morcone, Sassinoro, Castelpagano, Circello, and, across the regional border, Cercemaggiore. It is a territory of medium-high altitudes, woods, and pastures, historically marked by transhumance and livestock markets—the very ones to which the 18th-century decree linked 'La Pace'. For those visiting inland Campania, the day of the re-enactment is one of the best opportunities to see these villages come alive and to understand how popular tradition is still a collective event rather than a performance for tourists.