Wheat Festival
Ancient grains, threshing, and rural culture in the heart of Cilento
About Wheat Festival
A festival born from the threshing
At the end of June, when the stalks turn golden in the Cilento hinterland, the La Petrosa Farm in Ceraso, in the province of Salerno, turns its fields into an open-air gathering place. The Wheat Festival—originally started as the Ancient Wheat Festival—celebrates the harvest and threshing, the age-old tasks that defined the calendar of Cilento farming families for centuries, bringing them to the public through workshops, meetings, tastings, and music.
This is not a typical town fair filled with stalls; it is a country celebration hosted on an organic farm, where visitors can walk through the fields, knead dough, paint, and sit down to a meal made with ingredients harvested just a few meters away.
Ceraso, the Cilento hinterland, and ancient grains
The Municipality of Ceraso is a small village in the Cilento hinterland, nestled between the valleys of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, a short distance from the Tyrrhenian coast of Ascea and the archaeological site of Velia. It is a region where hill-based cereal farming never became industrialized, and where homemade bread and pasta remain a core part of the local food identity.
The Wheat Festival highlights this heritage: the ancient wheat varieties and spelt grown on the farm, the short supply chain, and the wood-fired oven. The theme for the 2026 edition, Wheat Roots, perfectly captures the event's intent: to trace back to the roots, both of the plants and of the community.
Two days, two spirits
The program is split into two distinct days. Saturday is the main celebration, with activities from early morning until late at night: wellness sessions, a Cilento-style breakfast, workshops, meetings, a community lunch, and an evening featuring pizza and live music.
Sunday takes a more technical approach: it is dedicated to the Open Day of the European project SOILRES (Horizon Europe), which studies soil health and crop resilience through biodiversity. La Petrosa is the only Italian case study for the project, and the morning includes a presentation and a guided tour of the experimental plots.
Workshops, wellness, and community cooking
The heart of Saturday consists of small-group activities, most of which require booking:
- The Breath of Wheat — an outdoor wellness session at the start of the day, led by Rita Ranauro.
- Hands in the Dough — an artisanal biscuit-making workshop using the farm's own flour, designed even for beginners.
- Wheat Brushstrokes — a creative painting workshop hosted by Artestrosa, with an adult session in the afternoon and a children's version before dinner.
- Bee Garden Festival — a visit to the apiary with beekeeper Dino Savelli.
- Upcycling workshops by the CuCilento atelier and shiatsu treatments, available throughout the day.
The most anticipated moment remains the Threshing Lunch: a menu inspired by the dishes once prepared for the harvesting crews, shared at long communal tables. In the late afternoon, the regenerative walk through the fields with Edmondo Soffritti, the farm owner, explains what organic and regenerative agriculture truly means on-site.
The evening: wood-fired oven, craft beer, and Cilento music
At sunset, the festival shifts gears. The Pizza in Good Company evening offers pizzas made with the farm's ancient grains and baked in a wood-fired oven, accompanied by wine, craft beer, desserts, and gelato, all set to the soundtrack of Cilento folk music. This is when the festival truly opens up to the village and visitors from the coast.
Patronage and collaborations
The event is held under the patronage of the Municipality of Ceraso, the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, and Slow Grains, in collaboration with the Slow Food Gelbison Convivium, the Terra di Resilienza Cooperative, and CuCilento. The scientific Open Day also involves the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, the University of Naples Federico II, and DEAFAL.
Who is it for?
The Wheat Festival is designed for those seeking an authentic experience: families with children, gastronomy enthusiasts, and those curious about sustainable agriculture. Those vacationing on the Cilento coast can easily include it in a day trip to the hinterland, perhaps combining it with a visit to Velia.
Wheat Festival — edition 2026
Wheat Roots: the tenth edition
The 2026 edition of the Wheat Festival, the tenth, was held on Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28, 2026, in the fields of the La Petrosa Farm, Via Fabbrica 112 in Ceraso, Salerno province. The chosen title, Wheat Roots, guided the entire schedule: from the ancient varieties grown on the farm to the cultural roots of the Cilento farming world.
Saturday offered a continuous program from 8:30 AM until night, with both limited-entry activities and open events. Sunday hosted the Open Day of SOILRES, a Horizon Europe project on soil health and crop resilience: La Petrosa is the only Italian case study for the program, and visitors were able to observe the experimental plots, cover crops, and compost heaps up close.
The event was held under the patronage of the Municipality of Ceraso, the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, and Slow Grains, in collaboration with the Slow Food Gelbison Convivium, the Terra di Resilienza Cooperative, and CuCilento.
Programme Wheat Festival 2026
Saturday, June 27, 2026
- 8:30 AM — The Breath of Wheat: outdoor wellness session with Rita Ranauro (1 hour, booking required).
- 9:30-10:30 AM — Cilento Breakfast with farm-baked goods (booking required).
- 10:00-11:00 AM — Hands in the Dough: artisanal biscuit workshop with ancient grain flour (booking required).
- 12:30 PM — Conversation with Antonio Pellegrino (Terra di Resilienza) and Edmondo Soffritti on the cultural value of wheat (free entry).
- 1:30 PM — The Threshing Lunch: menu inspired by traditional Cilento farming dishes (booking required, drinks not included).
- 3:00-4:00 PM — Bee Garden Festival: visit to the apiary with beekeeper Dino Savelli (free entry).
- 4:30-6:30 PM — Wheat Brushstrokes, creative painting workshop for adults by Francesca of Artestrosa (materials and snack included).
- 6:30-8:30 PM — Wheat Brushstrokes for children, with a snack of ancient grain bread and organic olive oil.
- 6:30 PM — Regenerative walk in the fields with Edmondo Soffritti (free entry).
- 8:00 PM — Pizza in Good Company: wood-fired pizza with local ancient grain dough, by Concetta and Nicola, with wine, MaltoPiù craft beer by Alberto Trotta, desserts, and gelato. Live Cilento music with maestro Luigi Vigorito.
All-day Saturday activities
- 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM — Shiatsu treatments with Rita Ranauro.
- 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM — Upcycling workshops by the CuCilento atelier.
- From 5:00 PM — Roots and Spelt: regenerative photo set and sensory barefoot walk in the spelt fields (free entry).
Sunday, June 28, 2026 — SOILRES Open Day
- 9:00 AM — Welcome, registration, and coffee.
- 9:30 AM — Presentation of the European SOILRES project (Horizon Europe).
- 10:00 AM — Guided field tour: experimental plots, cover crops, compost heaps.
- 1:00 PM — Regenerative lunch.
The Open Day was organized with the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, the University of Naples Federico II, DEAFAL, and the project's industrial partners; participation required prior registration.
Highlights Wheat Festival 2026
- Tenth edition of the festival, themed Wheat Roots.
- The Threshing Lunch, the most convivial moment of the event.
- The regenerative walk in the fields led by the farm owner.
- The evening with ancient grain wood-fired pizza and live Cilento music.
- The SOILRES Open Day, the only Italian farm case study for the Horizon Europe project.
- Creative workshops also dedicated to children.
Prices Wheat Festival 2026
Practical information — Wheat Festival
Location
Azienda Agricola La Petrosa, Via Fabbrica 112, 84052 Ceraso (SA), Campania. The farm is located in the Cilento hinterland, within the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park.
How to get there
- By car: Take the Vallo della Lucania / Ascea exit from the SS18 Cilentana, then follow signs for Ceraso. Parking is available at the farm.
- By train: Vallo della Lucania-Castelnuovo station on the Tyrrhenian line, then take a local bus or taxi.
- By plane: Salerno-Costa d'Amalfi or Naples-Capodichino airport, then rent a car.
Bookings and contacts
Most activities (breakfast, workshops, lunch, treatments) have limited spots and require booking. Phone: +39 0974 61370 or +39 334 9120747. Email: [email protected]. Website and bookings: lapetrosa.it.
Useful tips
- Wear closed, comfortable shoes: you will be walking in fields and on stubble.
- Bring a hat, water, and sunscreen for morning and early afternoon activities.
- The farm offers agritourism accommodation: those coming from afar can stay on-site by booking well in advance.
- Cilento evenings in late June can be cool: a light sweater is recommended.
Festival-goer photos
No photos yet. Share yours!
Share your photos
5 photos max, 5 MB per photo (JPG, PNG, WebP)
Noticed an error or missing information?
Help us keep this listing up to date. Every proposal is verified by our team before publication.
Festival-goer reviews
No rating yet — be the first!
No comments yet. Be the first!
Were you there?
Share your experience with the community.
Where does it take place — Wheat Festival
Azienda Agricola La Petrosa
Via Fabbrica 112, 84052 Ceraso