Wild Boar and Chestnut Festival

A festival that tells the story of the Irpinia woodlands

The Wild Boar and Chestnut Festival is the most anticipated autumn event in San Potito Ultra, a village of a few thousand inhabitants in the province of Avellino, in the heart of Irpinia. Here, Campania is not about the sea, but about the Apennine hinterland: chestnut groves, oak trees, vineyards, and mountain cuisine that autumn naturally places at the center of the table. The event, which reached its twenty-seventh edition in 2025, was born precisely from this bond between the village and its surrounding woods.

Wild boar, the absolute star

The signature dish is wild boar, cooked according to home recipes and served at stands set up in Piazza Baroni Amatucci and along the streets of the historic center. The most requested dish is scialatielli with wild boar ragù, a fresh Campanian pasta that pairs perfectly with a rich, slow-cooked sauce; alongside it, there is always the barbecue, with wild boar and pork cooked right before your eyes.

The menu in recent editions has included:

• Scialatielli with wild boar ragù, the festival's star dish
• Mixed pork and wild boar barbecue, with sausages and ribs
• Vegetarian scialatielli with pumpkin, an alternative for non-meat eaters
• Caciocavallo 'mpiccato, the hanging cheese melted over an open flame
• Roasted chestnuts prepared throughout the evening
• Homemade desserts and chestnut flour-based products
• Local wine from Irpinia, a land of great appellations

The Guinness World Record chestnut log

The most photographed moment of the festival is the presentation of the chestnut log, a dessert of epic proportions that put San Potito Ultra in the Guinness World Records. It is prepared by local artisans and sliced in the square before the public: a collective ritual that perfectly summarizes the spirit of the event, where the chestnut is not just an ingredient, but a piece of local identity.

Folk music and evenings in the square

The gastronomic experience is accompanied by a musical program that favors the popular repertoire of the South: tammurriate, traditional songs and dances, and local folk groups. In recent years, the festival has been divided into two hubs: the main square with live concerts and Villa Elvira with more contemporary sets, bringing together audiences of different ages. The result is a celebration that begins with dinner and continues late into the night.

When it takes place and how it works

The event traditionally falls on the second weekend of October and lasts for three days. On Friday and Saturday, the stands open in the evening; on Sunday, the festivities begin at lunchtime and continue until supplies run out—a formula that has encouraged many visitors to arrive early over the years.

Who organizes it

The organization is entrusted to the Comitato Festa Maria S.S. del Soccorso, the same group of volunteers that manages the patronal festivities in September and the Fusillo co' Ciurillo Festival. It is an event entirely self-produced by the village, with dozens of volunteers working in the kitchen, at the stands, and setting up the squares: a model of a festival that remains genuinely community-driven, far from the logic of large commercial events.

Why come

For those visiting Irpinia in autumn, San Potito Ultra is a stop that combines local cuisine, hilly landscapes, and village hospitality. It is also an opportunity to discover a town rarely included in tourist itineraries, just a few kilometers from Avellino and the great wine-growing areas of Taurasi, Fiano di Avellino, and Greco di Tufo.