Tra lucciole e stelle

«Tra lucciole e stelle»: the festival lighting up Sannio

For over twenty years, "Tra lucciole e stelle" has been one of the most deeply rooted cultural events in the province of Benevento. It is not a festival concentrated in a single square, but a widespread event that travels through a group of hillside municipalities between Sannio and Irpinia, bringing music, theatre, and local flavors to the open spaces of the villages. San Nicola Manfredi, a small town on the outskirts of Benevento in Campania, is one of its regular and most popular stops.

A town that becomes a stage

The formula is simple and effective: instead of building a single arena, the festival moves each evening to a different location within the municipal territory. In San Nicola Manfredi, performances have been held in the Belvedere Zone, in Contrada Iannassi, and in the Pagliara Hamlet, allowing every inhabited area to experience its own evening. It is a choice that enhances the scattered geography of the town, made of districts and hamlets overlooking the valley, and breathes life back into even the smallest squares.

The artistic direction of Leonardo Quadrini

The artistic project is led by Maestro Leonardo Quadrini, who crafts a deliberately eclectic program: classical and symphonic music alongside singer-songwriter performances, theatre, jazz, and folk music. Quadrini does not limit himself to directing the program; he often takes the stage, accompanying the festival's most prestigious guests on the piano. It is this dual role, as both organizer and musician, that gives the event a more intimate tone than a standard summer season of events.

The 2025 program in San Nicola Manfredi

The 22nd edition, held in 2025, featured three evenings in the town, all starting at 9:00 PM:

• Sunday, September 14 — Belvedere Zone: Salvatore Misticone in «La voce… la parola», a show alternating acting, irony, and musical moments.
• Wednesday, September 17 — Contrada Iannassi: The Salzano's Band with «Da Lucio a Lucio», a tribute to Lucio Battisti.
• Friday, September 19 — Pagliara Hamlet: An encounter with soprano Katia Ricciarelli, accompanied on the piano by Maestro Leonardo Quadrini.

A network of six municipalities

San Nicola Manfredi participates in the festival alongside Arpaise (the lead municipality), Apollosa, Ceppaloni, Chianche, and Pietrastornina. The 2025 edition ran from August 19 to November 9, featuring concerts by the Campania Symphony Orchestra, a jazz evening at the Medieval Castle of Ceppaloni, an exhibition of Sannio artists at Palazzo Ducale in Chianche, and tributes to Pino Daniele and Lucio Battisti. The initiative is supported by the Campania Region and co-financed by the 2021-2027 Development and Cohesion Fund, as part of the Strategic Plan for Culture and Tourism.

Sannio flavors beside the stage

Alongside the performances, food stalls offer typical local specialties. This is not just a decorative detail: the project explicitly links cultural programming to the promotion of local agricultural products. We are, in fact, in one of the most interesting wine-growing areas of Campania, just a few kilometers from the hills of Aglianico and Falanghina del Sannio, and a stop between concerts becomes a small taste of rural gastronomy.

Why visit

"Tra lucciole e stelle" is not a festival of massive crowds, and that is precisely why it works: a gathered audience, open-air performances among squares and districts, and nationally acclaimed artists just a few meters from the spectators. For those visiting inland Campania at the end of summer, it is an opportunity to discover a Sannio that does not empty out after mid-August, but continues to fill its evenings with music until nightfall, under a sky that gives the event its name.

Towards the 2026 edition

At the moment, the 2026 calendar for San Nicola Manfredi has not yet been published: the festival has historically been held between late August and September, but the dates and program for the new edition remain to be confirmed. It is advisable to follow the channels of the Municipality of San Nicola Manfredi and the local Sannio press in the weeks leading up to the event.