Food festivals near Naples: November 2026 sagre guide

November in Campania has a particular smell: roast chestnuts, new wine straight from the cask and woodsmoke in the inland villages, a world away from the Naples seafront. The old saying goes that by San Martino's day every must has turned to wine, and across Sannio, Irpinia and Cilento the villages open the sagre that close the chestnut season, usually at weekends and almost always for a donation or a few euros a portion. Here you'll find the dates checked weekend by weekend, what's on the plate and how to manage it if you're coming from Naples without a car.

Until 1 November: the last of October's festivals

If you don't want to wait, there are still a few days left for two festivals that started in October. In Bagnoli Irpino, Il Nero di Bagnoli (the black truffle fair) celebrates the black truffle until 1 November, with stalls in the old town and truffle on the menu in every restaurant in the village. In Roccamonfina, on the Caserta side, the PGI chestnut and porcino mushroom festival closes on the same day, with the woods of the extinct volcano behind the village. The same weekend, 1 and 2 November, also sees the first stretch of the Montella festival, below.

The busiest weekend: 6-8 November

The fullest weekend is 6 to 8 November. In Montella, in Irpinia, the Festa della Castagna IGP (PGI chestnut festival) reaches its 42nd edition over five days in total, 1-2 and then 6-7-8 November: stalls in piazza Bartoli and the old town, roast and oven-baked chestnuts with the village's PGI variety, an hour and a half's drive from Naples. On the Sunday it's worth leaving the car in the parking areas outside the centre and taking the shuttle up, arriving before 11am. On the same days, in Sannio, Torrecuso celebrates the tenth edition of Novello e Castagne: three days of new wine and roast chestnuts organised by the Forum Giovani together with the Pro Loco, with the village turning into one long tasting trail.

San Martino's weekend: 7-9 November

The weekend tied to San Martino's day, which falls on Wednesday 11 November, brings together three more festivals. In Capitignano, the historic hamlet of Giffoni Sei Casali, the twelfth edition of San Martino: Castagne e Vino (chestnuts and wine) arrives, with a new wine competition on Friday 7 and a walk through the lanes on Sunday 9. In Futani, in Cilento, the Festa della Castagna runs from the 7th to the 9th, with stalls and events in the village streets. In Acerno, in the Picentini mountains, the Castagna e Prodotti del Sottobosco festival (chestnuts and woodland produce) reaches its 47th edition over the weekend of the 8th and 9th, with mushrooms, honey and mountain cheeses alongside the chestnuts.

In San Martino Valle Caudina, despite the name, the festival running from 8 to 11 November isn't about chestnuts but pasta: the cicatiello, handmade using the old technique, served with ragù or with mushrooms and sausage in the village streets.

Mid-month and towards December

From 13 to 15 November, in the Caserta village of Squille, Castagne, Novello e Pallagrello pairs roast chestnuts with the area's historic grape, the pallagrello, and for three days the village becomes one long tasting trail. Those who wait until the end of the month will find the Sagra del Fagiolo in Controne, in Cilento: the 42nd edition, from 28 November on weekends until almost the end of December, dedicated to the Controne bean, a Slow Food presidium cooked here in dozens of different ways.

When to go and what to bring

In Irpinia and inland Cilento the temperature drops before it does in Naples: a warm jumper and comfortable shoes matter more than an umbrella, though a light raincoat in the bag doesn't hurt. The worst queues for roast chestnuts are early Sunday afternoon, when the coach groups arrive: if you can, go early in the morning or, where the calendar allows, on a weekday. In the smaller villages the central parking fills up fast, and almost everywhere the Pro Loco point visitors to parking areas on the edge of town, a few hundred metres' walk from the stalls.

How to get there without a car

It has to be said honestly: almost all these villages are set up for people arriving by car, and on sagra weekends the regional buses to Irpinia and Cilento run limited services, often with only one return in the early afternoon or none at all on Sunday. If you don't drive and don't fancy organising a group, it's worth choosing an alternative closer to Naples with the same spirit of harvest and changing season.

The rest of the month, with exhibitions, concerts and San Gregorio Armeno opening on 1 November, is in Things to do in Naples, Italy in November 2026. For the festivals still running in October, there's Food festivals near Naples: October 2026 sagre guide.