Trevico Trillo Festival

The highest festival in Campania

Trevico is the highest municipality in Campania: the village stretches out at about 1,090 meters above sea level on the ridge separating Irpinia from Puglia, in that part of the province of Avellino known as Baronia. It is here, among stone alleys and panoramic views that reach the Tavoliere plain on clear days, that the Trevico Trillo Festival takes place every August, a gastronomic event nestled within the patronal festivities in honor of Saint Euplius and Saint Lucy. It is not a large-scale event: it is a village feast where local peasant cuisine becomes the center of community life for one evening.

What is trillo?

Trillo is a handmade pasta shape, similar to cavatelli, belonging to the domestic tradition of the Irpinian Baronia. A simple dough, handmade technique, and a shape that holds sauce perfectly: it is the classic pasta of family occasions, which has now become the signature dish of Trevico. At the festival, it is served in its most recognizable version, the one that the people of Trevico have always prepared in summer.

• Trillo with porcini mushrooms — the signature dish of the evening, seasoned with porcini mushrooms gathered in the woods of Upper Irpinia, one of the most precious products of this territory.
• Local porchetta — served alongside the pasta, sliced and distributed at the stalls set up in the square.
• Pizza and draft drinks — offered by the food stands that accompany the musical evenings of the patronal feast.

Piazza Ettore Scola, the festival stage

The tasting is held in Piazza Ettore Scola, named after the director originally from Trevico, to whom the town also dedicates an international film festival. Tables are set up outdoors in the shade of the large linden tree that locals use as a landmark for the square, and service begins in the early evening, once the heat of the day has subsided. In recent editions, the event has been scheduled around August 10th, during the nights of Saint Lawrence, when the altitude and the open sky of the Apennines do the rest.

A patronal feast, not just a food festival

The festival does not exist in isolation: it is the gastronomic opening of the festivities that Trevico dedicates to its saints. On August 12th, Saint Euplius is celebrated with a solemn mass and procession; August 13th is the turn of Saint Lucy, with celebrations in the cathedral and the church dedicated to her, followed by a procession with the statue accompanied by the local brass band. The religious part is preceded by a novena that begins in the first days of the month: a calendar that combines devotion and conviviality, as is the case in most of the villages of inland Campania.

Music and evenings in the square

Alongside the food stalls, the festival committee organizes free concerts and shows in the village squares every year. In 2025, Collage took the stage in Piazza Ettore Scola, while the Angelone Show was performed in Contrada Molini; in previous editions, the town hosted the Cugini di Campagna and a tribute to Rino Gaetano. It is a popular program, designed to bring emigrants and summer vacationers back to the village, who are the true engine of summer festivals in Upper Irpinia.

Trevico, Baronia, and Upper Irpinia

Those who arrive for the festival find much more than just a tasting. Trevico preserves a compact historic center, the cathedral, the remains of fortifications, and a panoramic position that justifies the climb on its own. Around it opens the Baronia, a land of wheat, chestnuts, legumes, and mushrooms, with a calendar of festivals that accompanies autumn — from chestnuts to potatoes, from beans to stuffed peppers. The Trillo Festival is the summer chapter of this geography of taste: small, authentic, and without any concessions to tourist folklore.

2026 Edition

At the moment, the Municipality of Trevico and the festival committee have not published the dates and program for the 2026 edition. The event is traditionally held in August, close to the patronal feast: it is advisable to follow the official municipal channels in the weeks leading up to Ferragosto.