Up & Bascio

Up & Bascio, the festival that spans Torrecuso from top to bottom

The name says it all: Up & Bascio refers to the two areas into which the locals have always divided their town—the upper and lower parts of the historic center. The festival was born as a journey that symbolically connects the two, transforming the village's alleys, small squares, and community spaces into stages. For three days in July, Torrecuso, in the heart of the Benevento province in Campania, becomes a meeting place where past and future seamlessly converse.

The Palio del Castello, the barrel challenge

The most anticipated event is the Palio del Castello, the competition between the districts that concludes the festival. The village's uphill streets, with their narrow alleys and tight bends, turn into a track where the stars are the barrels: a direct nod to the wine culture that has defined Torrecuso for centuries. It is the moment when popular participation reaches its peak, with the districts preparing and the public lining the route.

The parade under the stars

Alongside the Palio, the traditional parade under the stars is the festival's other collective ritual. In the 2026 edition, it took on a particularly emotional form: couples married for nearly fifty years walked through the historic center wearing their original wedding attire, while photographs of their weddings were projected along the route. It was a story of love, memory, and community identity that involved the entire town.

Wine and typical products of the Sannio

Torrecuso is one of the iconic towns of Sannio viticulture, and the festival highlights this vocation. Tastings accompany every evening: the Tra Monte e Bollicine aperitif is designed as a journey through wine, territory, and conviviality, while along the route, you can encounter typical products and local culinary excellence. For visitors, it is the easiest way to understand why these Sannio hills are considered one of the most interesting wine-growing areas in inland Campania.

Culture, readings, and open-air cinema

Up & Bascio is not just a party: a significant part of the program is dedicated to reflection and reading. The inaugural conference Semi di Comunità e Inclusione (Seeds of Community and Inclusion), hosted in the Sala Nicchie, addresses the role of the Third Sector in inland areas, the depopulation of small towns, labor inclusion, local welfare, and equal opportunities. This is followed by the Flashbook d'Estate, live readings, and the Annunziata sotto le stelle film forum, with open-air evening screenings in the historic center. The nights close with live music and DJ sets.

A community that works as a team

The 2026 edition marked an organizational turning point: for the first time, Nuova Pro Loco Torricolus APS, Forum Giovani Torrecuso, and Gramigna APS combined their energy, skills, and vision into a single project, with the support of the Torrecuso Municipal Administration. The chosen slogan, "Torrecuso: tradition that unites, future that we build," perfectly summarizes the spirit of the initiative. As Donato De Marco, president of Gramigna APS, summarized, Up & Bascio grew this year because the festival was built together.

Torrecuso, the village

With just over 3,200 inhabitants and thirteen hamlets scattered among the hills, Torrecuso is located at an altitude of about 450 meters in the province of Benevento, in Campania. The compact historic center, with its sloping alleys, is the natural backdrop for the festival: nothing is set up in a fairground; everything takes place within the town. This, more than anything else, makes Up & Bascio an event to be experienced on foot.

When to go

The festival is held in July and lasts three days, from Friday to Sunday; in previous editions, it has also taken place in early August. Events are concentrated from late afternoon until night, when the Sannio temperatures become pleasant and the village fills up. Sunday, with the Palio del Castello and the parade, is the day not to be missed.