Every year, in autumn, in Vitulano, the protagonist returns, the real lady of the mountains. The chestnut is a typical product of Vitulano, strictly linked not only to the culinary tradition of the place, but to its social and economic history.
Chestnuts have always represented a source of important livelihood for the local inhabitants, particularly for the poorest sections of society.
Even today in the memories of the older people, or in the popular songs, they tell of a peasant’s world, a simple one, which in autumn was intent on harvesting chestnuts.
Moreover, the organoleptic and aesthetic characteristics of the Vitulano chestnuts make them unique in the regional landscape.
When we talk about Vitulano chestnuts, we actually refer to three different types of fruit: the Enzeta, the Panarana and the Selvaggia (Wild). Among the three, the Enzeta is the authentically Vitulano chestnut, which is different from the others for its light brown colour, the thiner and more pointed shape, the intense flavour and the ease with which it is cooked. The Panarana, instead, is more similar to the traditional chestnuts, while the Selvaggia one is small, tasty, but difficult to process.
For such a valued and delicious product, the annual event aimed at promotion could not be missing: the Chestnut Festival (Sagra della Castagna). The Festival is now a consolidated tradition, born in 1992 from the idea of a group of friends led by Nicola Matarazzo. On that occasion a festival committee was created, which for several years has done its very best for the organisation of the event. Today, instead, the organisation is entrusted to the Pro-Loco Camposauro, the municipality of Vitulano and to the various village associations, which collaborate to prepare an event that attracts tourists and visitors not only from Campania, but also from other regions.
For the occasion, it is possible to try the local chestnut, present in all the recipes of Vitulano traditions: toasted, boiled, cooked in the oven, but without forgetting the sweets (to try at the pastry shop Non solo zucchero in Vitulano - + 33 824 878723) and the different chestnut dishes. There is another product of excellence to combine with the chestnut: the Vitulano pecorino cheese. Moreover, the Festival is the occasion to try also other dishes of the local culinary tradition and to visit the village, with its mountain, its fifteen churches, squares and farmhouses, divided according to the ancient Universities.
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