Food festivals near Naples: October 2026 sagre guide

In October, Campania eats out of town. Chestnuts, porcini, black truffles and grapes all arrive at once, and every inland village sets up its stalls in the old centre for a sagra, a local food festival. The big ones can all be done as a day trip from Naples: leave in the afternoon, have dinner in the square, be home by night.

Two things to know before you go. First: without a car it's almost always hard going, because the villages sit on hills or mountains and public transport doesn't reach them in the evening. Second: sagre live on weekends. On weekdays they open in the evening, if at all; on Saturday and Sunday they start at lunchtime and carry on late. Below you'll only find festivals with a 2026 edition confirmed by the town council, the Pro Loco (the local tourist association) or local papers. Where dates aren't out yet, we say so.

Cusano Mutri: the Sagra dei Funghi

This is the longest and best-known festival in the Sannio area. The 46th edition runs from Fri 25 September to Sun 18 October 2026, so it starts today. This year's theme, according to the council, is «Funghi. Un universo in connessione» (Mushrooms: a connected universe): alongside the food there are exhibitions, installations, talks and excursions between the old town and the Matese mountains.

Cusano is a medieval village clinging to the slopes of the Matese, in the province of Benevento: stone houses, steep lanes, cellars and courtyards that turn into taverns during the festival. The star is the porcino from the surrounding woods, in every form: on pasta, fried, in soup, grilled. Alongside it you'll find cured meats and cheeses from the Matese and wine from the Sannio.

The published 2026 opening hours: Monday to Thursday 7pm-midnight, Friday 7pm-1am, Saturday and Sunday 10am-1am. It's about 95km from Naples: allow an hour and a half on the road, more on a Saturday evening.

Roccamonfina: chestnuts and porcini in a volcano

In the province of Caserta, inside the crater of an extinct volcano, Roccamonfina celebrates its PGI chestnut together with the porcino mushroom. According to the 2026 calendar in the local papers, the festival runs every weekend from 3 October to 1 November, centred on piazza Nicola Amore. The detailed programme isn't out yet: check the Pro Loco's page before you go.

The highlight is the giant pan for caldarroste (roast chestnuts), ten and a half metres across, which made it into the Guinness World Records in 2018. Around it are stalls with chestnuts and porcini, hazelnuts, apples and other produce from the Roccamonfina area. From Naples it's about an hour and ten minutes on the motorway, exit Caianello.

Irpinia: Serino, Avella and the Bagnoli truffle

In October, Irpinia (the inland province of Avellino) is chestnut country. Three dates, in calendar order.

Serino, Friday 9, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October. This is Irpinia's oldest chestnut festival, now in its 49th edition, run by the Pro Loco in the hamlet of Rivottoli. You eat «vrole», the local roast chestnuts, cooked in the virulera (a big roasting drum) in the square, and dishes made with the PGI Serino chestnut. There's also a small chestnut museum in the old bell tower of Sant'Antonio. It's about an hour from Naples.

Avella, 16-18 and 23-25 October. The 13th Sagra della Castagna e della Nocciola (chestnut and hazelnut festival) takes over the old town for two weekends, organised by the association I Rami del Melo and the Pro Loco Città di Avella. The hazelnut here gave its name to all the others: avellana, Italian for hazelnut, comes from Avella. It's the closest festival on this list, about 45 minutes from Naples.

Bagnoli Irpino, 23-25 October and 30 October-1 November. «Il Nero di Bagnoli» is the 47th Black Truffle Fair, together with the chestnut festival and produce from the Laceno plateau: mushrooms, cheeses, cured meats, sweets. It's organised by the Pro Loco Bagnoli-Laceno in the old town. It's the furthest of the group from Naples, about an hour and a half.

Scala: chestnuts above the Amalfi Coast

Scala is the village above Ravello, and its Festa della Castagna, now in its 49th edition, takes place on Saturday and Sunday 10-11 and 17-18 October. The council was already rallying residents and associations in mid-September. There are roast chestnuts, sweets and chestnut dishes, plus the Palio delle Contrade, a contest between the village's six districts.

From Naples, allow a good hour and a half, between the motorway and the hairpin bends of the Chiunzi pass. It's the right festival if you want to see the Amalfi Coast without the August chaos.

Oliveto Citra: the Festa dell'Uva

For those who prefer wine to chestnuts. In the Sele valley, in the province of Salerno, Oliveto Citra holds its 52nd Festa dell'Uva (grape festival) from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October. It has run since 1973, and the reason to go is the parade floats, covered in mosaics made of grapes, that process through the village. Around them: stalls, folk groups, music. About an hour and twenty minutes from Naples on the motorway.

Montella: one to note, but in November

Montella's Festa della Castagna IGP is the biggest in Irpinia, but it usually falls between late October and the first half of November: in 2025 it ran from 31 October to 2 November and from 7 to 9 November. The 2026 dates haven't been announced yet: check the festival's page before making plans. It's about an hour and twenty minutes from Naples.

The October 2026 food festival calendar

Festivals change their hours at the last minute, especially if it rains: check the Pro Loco's page before getting in the car. If you're staying in the city, the October events listings cover everything happening in Naples, and Things to do has the experiences you can book.

And if you fancy wine and countryside before the weekend, the winery lunch on the slopes of Vesuvius is right on Naples' doorstep and doesn't need a festival as an excuse. More ideas for eating well are in the Food section.