Trans_Matesina

Trans_Matesina, a journey through sounds and songs from the land

Every year, in early July, the village of Cusano Mutri — a municipality in the Matese Regional Park, in the province of Benevento, Campania — becomes a meeting point for musicians, artisans, researchers, and enthusiasts of oral tradition. Trans_Matesina is a folk music festival that defines itself, as per the subtitle chosen by the organizers, as a "journey through sounds and songs from the land": a path that starts from the repertoires of the Sannio and Matese regions and opens up to a dialogue with other rural musical cultures of the Mediterranean and Europe.

The 2026 edition, the sixth, took place from July 3rd to 5th. In 2025, the festival had already enlivened the town from July 4th to 6th for its fifth edition.

The Doppiozero Lab, home of the festival

The headquarters is the Doppiozero Lab (also known as 00lab), an Arci club active on Via dei Bersaglieri that has for years provided space, equipment, and volunteers for grassroots cultural projects. It is neither a theater nor an arena: it is a hybrid space — stage, courtyard, workshops, green area — and this informality is precisely what gives the festival its tone. Jam sessions are born at the tables, dances form wherever there is space, and musicians move from the stage to the circle without interruption.

Folk music at the center, but not alone

The musical program weaves together several formats:

• Evening concerts with guests dedicated to the traditional repertoires of Southern Italy and beyond;
• moments of free-form music and collective jam sessions, open to anyone bringing an organetto, zampogna, tambourine, chitarra battente, or simply their voice;
• folk dances, with learning opportunities for those approaching the tarantella and couple dances for the first time;
• seminars and in-depth meetings on traditional musical cultures, bringing scholars, collectors, and field researchers to Cusano Mutri.

Alongside the music, the programming reserves ample space for manual skills: the basket-weaving workshops have become a signature of the festival, along with photo exhibitions dedicated to the territory and its characters, and markets for crafts and local produce.

The village as part of the program

Trans_Matesina does not remain confined within a perimeter. The guided tours of the historic center of Cusano Mutri are part of the official calendar: a maze of alleys, stone arches, and stairways overlooking the Matese gorges, which explains for itself why the town is one of the most beloved destinations in the Sannio hinterland. Those arriving for the festival thus discover a dual itinerary, both musical and scenic.

Zero-mile gastronomy and natural wines

The food and wine offering follows the same philosophy as the artistic programming: zero-mile products and a selection of natural wines. The Sannio is, after all, one of the most interesting wine-growing areas in Campania, and Cusano Mutri is famous throughout the region for its mushrooms, the stars of a historic festival in autumn. The festival provides picnic areas and a space for barbecues, designed to keep the day going from afternoon until night.

Sleeping at the festival: the camping area

One of the most characteristic choices is the camping area set up for those who want to experience the three days without moving. It is the solution that many musicians and groups of friends adopt: tents are pitched, food is shared, and the music continues well beyond the end of the concerts. A model of a participatory festival — more of a temporary community than a simple lineup — that is now the hallmark of Trans_Matesina within the panorama of folk music festivals in Central-Southern Italy.

Why it's worth the trip

Trans_Matesina is a festival of intentionally contained dimensions, and this is its strength: you really get to know the musicians, you learn something concrete in a workshop, and you dance among the locals. For those looking for traditional Italian music in its living form — not museum-like, not folkloric in a tourist sense — the first weekend of July in Cusano Mutri is an appointment to mark in your calendar.