Wild Camp – Vietato Sfumare

A Beetle camp at the foot of the Matese

Wild Camp – Vietato Sfumare is the annual gathering that, on the last weekend of June, fills the Lente Piana area with air-cooled Volkswagens, camper-converted Transporters, vintage motorcycles, and tents pitched on the grass. The camp is located in the Municipality of Pontelandolfo, in the Province of Benevento, within the inland Sannio region of Campania: a village of just over two thousand inhabitants, perched at an altitude of 525 meters above the Tammaro Valley, on the lower slopes of the Matese massif.

The formula, repeated every year, remains the same: free admission, free camping, live evening concerts, and a community of enthusiasts arriving from all over the South and beyond. It is not a trade show or a static exhibition; it is a temporary camp where the van you traveled in becomes your home, kitchen, and improvised stage for three days.

Organized by: Fuori Fase VW

Behind Wild Camp is the Fuori Fase VW group, a collective of vintage Volkswagen enthusiasts very active in the Sannio region and Campania. The same group is also involved in other events in Pontelandolfo—for example, during the Cheese Rolling (Lancio della Ruzzola del Formaggio), their vans serve as shuttles between the parking lots and the historic center—and this local integration explains why the gathering has such a community-focused feel, featuring local products and close collaboration with the town.

Live music: rock, tributes, and DJ sets

Music is not just a background element. Each evening features a live concert, typically starting at 8:00 PM. Over the years, the Wild Camp stage has hosted tribute bands playing classic rock, as well as local acts, including projects dedicated to Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, alongside rock and pop bands from the Sannio area. Between sets and late into the night, the stage is taken over by DJs, with rock and vinyl selections keeping the camp alive until the early hours.

Swap party, marketplace, and Old Timer VW Meeting

The technical heart of the gathering is the swap party: a free, non-commercial exchange of spare parts for vintage Volkswagens, cars, and motorcycles, where those who are stripping down a vehicle meet those looking for parts. Alongside the parts exchange, there is a marketplace and the Old Timer VW Meeting, an informal exhibition of the vehicles that have arrived at the camp. Both air-cooled and water-cooled Volkswagens are welcome, and motorcycles find their own space on the same field.

Food area: Sannio street food and cold beer

The food area is one of the aspects the organizers curate most carefully, offering street food that blends German flavors with Campanian products: bratwurst, ciabatta sandwiches with Castelpoto red sausage or burgers, Abruzzese arrosticini, twister potatoes, pizza, fried montanara, blooming onions, fried artichokes, and cold draft beer. You eat standing up or sitting on the grass, which is as much a part of the experience as the concerts themselves.

Free camping, the true hallmark of Wild Camp

Free camping is what distinguishes this event from one-day rallies: you arrive on Friday, set up your tent, roof-top tent, or van in the field, and stay until Sunday, with no registration fee or entrance ticket. This creates a slow, convivial rhythm, with communal breakfasts, rides through the valley during the day, and evenings spent around the stage.

A history dating back to 2017

The first documented traces of Wild Camp date back to 2017, when the gathering was still held in August. In 2019 and the early 2020s, the event solidified, and in 2024, the organizers announced the seventh edition of "Vietato Sfumare Wild Camp," held from June 28th to 30th, once again in Pontelandolfo.

Pontelandolfo and the Sannio region

Visitors arriving for Wild Camp will find a village worth a stop just a few minutes away: Pontelandolfo preserves its medieval tower and a historic center perched on a rocky spur. The surrounding territory—between 300 and 900 meters above sea level—is defined by the Lente and Lenticella streams, Lake Spino, and the forests of the Matese slopes. It is a setting that, for an outdoor gathering in late June, offers cool evenings and a landscape very different from the coastal areas of Campania.

• Where: Loc. Lente Piana, Pontelandolfo (BN), Campania
• When: Last weekend of June, three days (Friday-Sunday)
• Admission: Free, free camping
• What to expect: Live concerts, DJ sets, VW parts swap party, marketplace, Old Timer VW Meeting, food area