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Special offers: Christmas and new years day holidays in Cilento |
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CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR IN CILENTO  The notes of the bagpipers, the smell of roasting chestnuts, the taste of the with honey sprinkled donuts, the many living nativities, the sincere hospitality enhance the pleasure of walking through the ancient villages of the Cilento rediscovering, among ancient abbeys and magnificent towers, the most significant values of Christmas.The historic old town centre of Padula, famous for its Carthusian monastery, is hosting an exhibition of nativity scenes. Along the streets and historical sites of the village, from the Church of St. Nicola De Donnis, the mother church of St. Michael the Archangel, to the Church of St. Augustine already you will breath the air of Christmas. In a charming and unique setting, where each space, atrium and area is transformed to host the shepherds and figures of the past, all worked with art and passion, you may be lost in the magical atmosphere of the Nativity, in.... (read more) |
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| ... the warm simplicity of both classic and modern styles, and immerse yourself in an enchanting show of light and timeless colours. Visitors can admire the original cribs made with shaped nails, carved stones, tree branches gathered in the surrounding woods and with recycled materials. And last but not least the splendid specimens which comply with the canons of the classical Neapolitan tradition: a tourbillion decorated with unique characters, historical and original pieces of all sizes of the 18th, 19th and 20th cent. The show couples every year with the Crib Competition for elementary and middle classes of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano schools and others. They can compete and challenge the imagination and creativity of children and young people on the theme of the Nativity. The exhibition will open its doors in the old town centre of Padula on December 20th and will remain open until after the Feast of the Epiphany. The streets of the medieval village of San Severino, rocked mountains of the Mingardo Valley in the municipality of Centola, will be populated with art and crafts scenes of other times. Characters wearing epochal costumes will relive moments of the past and, in the picturesque setting of the nowadays deserted village, they will perform the Nativity, the birth of Jesus, accompanied by the reading of some passages of the Gospel. Do not miss the exhibition "Sapori Cilentani d’Autunno" (Cilento Flavours of Autumn) which will start in early December in Vallo della Lucania, with the event "In terra di briganti" (In the land of robbers). You will assist in captivating theatre and music performances with local folk music, dances and songs called ‘pizziche’, ‘tamorre’ and ‘tarantelle’, ancient sounds of musicians with accordions and bagpipes. You can admire artistic, collectible and living cribs, even some made of chocolate. Part of the event are also the small markets proposing the products of the Cilento National Park, the Festival "Il Giardino dell’artigianato", offering handicraft products, a game of "living chess" and much more. On the weekend of the Immaculate Conception, in the quaint Cilento village Ottati, the traditional festival “Sagra della sfrionzola and Salsiccia” (of sfrionzola and sausage) will take place as every year. The sfrionzola is the most representing typical dish of this village and consists of a dish of chopped pork topped with pickled peppers. You can also enjoy broccoli with local sausage, pizza with local sausage, kebabs of pork, a tasty pasta called ‘cavatielli’ with cottage cheese, pizza with ‘frittole’, pork rinds and typical cakes from Ottati, all accompanied by excellent wine and much music. An absolute novelty is the spectacular event: "Delitto nel ventre del Cilento!" (Crime in the depths of Cilento), a dramatic mystery weekend to spend in the ancient village of Rutino. Participants will be the real protagonists of an intricate mystery to be solved during a Cilento dinner by candlelight and with music: you will be investigating or be the alleged killers… you will suspect and question, or to be questioned and suspected. In the enchantment of a forgotten place, you will live a unique first person adventure, testing your investigative skills or your acting performances. In Moio della Civitella, but also in many other Cilento villages, the Christmas Eve is lived as a family and town holiday. They use to do the ‘Focaro’, a big bonfire burning all night after the religious ceremony and after that the players of the ‘fruschariéddo’ (a sort of shawm) and the bagpipers have paid a homage to the Child placed in a manger. The oldest person of the village will trigger the fire and the preparation of this event turns into a competition, a sort of ‘battle’ between Moio della Civitella and its hamlet Pellare, for who will be able to make the biggest bonfire. Cilento gastronomic habits are an important component of the food and cultural heritage of Salerno area. In inland villages still survives a strong culinary tradition in preparing the meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: on Christmas Eve they prepare for dinner ‘cinguli cu l’alici’ (noodles with anchovies), fried salted cod and fried savoury donuts, while on Christmas Day for lunch they prepare ‘fusiddi’ (typical handmade pasta), ‘coniglio mbuttunato o arrustuto’ (filled or grilled rabbit), cakes with a cocoa and chestnut filling and ‘scauratielli’ (fried donuts sprinkled with honey). Concerning the long cooking tradition of Cilento related to Christmas, we remind the ‘Christmas Star’ of Laurino and the ‘Pasticcelle’ of Laurino, which, among all, seem for us to be the most original ones. In Laurino on the Christmas Eve it is still used by many families the observation of the fasting ritual which consists in not eating meat and in tasting 12 different food types and in drinking a decoction of laurel leaves. This rite is called ‘Christmas Star’ and the permitted foods are: ‘tagliulìni’ (homemade linguine), donuts, chestnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, dried figs, beans, chickpeas, lentils, ‘lupini’, ‘struffoli’ (round shaped cakes, like confetti, made with flour and eggs, fried and then covered with honey). Strong is the symbolism of the number twelve (the months of the year), of the shape of the chosen food, all relating to the shape of the seed (Christmas, the feast of life that is born) and of the drink that recalls the origin of town name Laurino (from ‘bosco di lauro’ = laurel wood). In the town of Pollica sweet ‘pasticcèlle’ (star-shaped fried cakes), whose originality is given by the double sheet of pasta dough (obtained by mixing flour with eggs and white wine) containing the filling, a cream made with toasted almonds, dried pears, pine nuts, roasted bread, which are then fried, and finally covered with honey. Every respectable family table of Cilento is decorated with a handmade centrepiece created with grass and twigs from the local woods, and DOC wines such as ‘Cilento’ and ‘Castel S. Lorenzo’ or the ‘soppressata’ of Gioi cannot be missing. This typical charcuterie, seasoned with salt and spices (chilly, fennel and pepper), and the local white figs, that can be eaten fresh, dried or processed into syrup, are the masters of the Cilento table. |
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