Notte dei Falò a Nusco

The Bonfire night is a folkloric and religious event that takes place in Nusco, on the 17th of January of each year, on the occasion of the celebrations in honour of Saint Anthony the Abbot.

The sacred belief that refers the origins of the feast to the Catholic tradition, linking it to the celebrations for the protector of animals, joins the story of the pagan rite, for which fire is the element of purification of souls. In the plague of 1656, Nusco had about 1,200 victims. It was in that fatal circumstance that, for the first time, the purifying bonfires were lit, as a sign of liberation and eradication of the epidemic. But not only. According to a legend, on the 17th of January Saint Anthony's Bread was distributed throughout the Kingdom of Naples, prodigious in the treatment of Herpes Zoster, also known as Saint Anthony's fire, because it was prepared with pork fat. It was often associated, for this reason, with the religious figure.

Still today, the Bonfires Night is still very much felt by the community of Nusco, which is not the only one to await this annual appointment anxiously. In fact, millions of visitors and tourists participate in the event, arriving in one of Italy's Most Beautiful Villages to watch the lighting of the fires. The program of the oldest feast in Irpinia includes, in addition to the ritual of bonfires, shows, folk music, itinerant dances, guided views, artistic exhibitions and the unavoidable promotion and tasting of typical products and local wines.

The Bonfires Night is a centuries-old tradition that intertwines history, legend and religion. A feast of culture and food and wine, which lights up the atmosphere and souls of those who participate in it with joy.