Pettole Festival in Castelluccio Valmaggiore: 26 December tastes of home

Every year on St Stephen’s Day, Largo Umberto I turns into something hard to explain to those who have never been there. Olive oil sizzles in the pans, the warm smell of fried dough rises through the lanes of the historic centre, and around the fire gather families, elderly people, children and outsiders who have arrived by chance, or by choice.

The Pettole Festival of Castelluccio Valmaggiore is one of those events that need no grand staging: the pettole, the square and the people are enough. An event held on 26 December for more than thirty years, it has become one of the most eagerly awaited moments among the food festivals and Christmas traditions of the Daunian Apennines.

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Pettole: fried leavened dough, simplicity that becomes identity

Apulian pettole are fritters of soft leavened dough, shaped by hand and dropped into boiling olive oil until they puff up into little golden clouds. Nothing more, nothing less. Yet this traditional recipe, handed down from kitchen to kitchen, from grandmothers to grandchildren, tells on its own of centuries of peasant food culture.

In the food and wine of the Celone valley, pettole have a special place. They are Christmas food, made at home in the weeks of Advent, filling the holidays with their scent and bringing generations together around a table. In Castelluccio this culinary heritage has left private kitchens and become a collective event, a community gathering, a moment of sharing open to all.

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A medieval village in the Daunian Apennines

Castelluccio Valmaggiore is a small village in the Alta Valle del Celone, clinging to a ridge of the Monti Dauni at about 600 metres above sea level. Its historic centre keeps its original medieval layout, with narrow lanes, stone houses and a round tower of Byzantine origin that has dominated the landscape for centuries.

It is one of those places where time has not stopped, only slowed down. Castelluccio has joined the Borghi Autentici d’Italia (Authentic Villages of Italy) network and embodies well the kind of slow travel that more and more travellers are looking for, especially in the inland areas of the province of Foggia: open landscapes, silence, real flavours.

On 26 December, however, the silence gives way to the scent of hot oil and the voices of the festival.

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What to do on 26 December among the villages of inland Puglia

If you are wondering what to do on 26 December in a village of inland Puglia, the Pettole Festival is a good answer: a fixed date, in the square, made of aromas and real people.

The festival takes place in the heart of Largo Umberto I, in the historic centre of the village. Entry is free and the atmosphere is friendly. Visitors from elsewhere often find a reason to explore the village streets, take in the view over the Monti Dauni or stop for a chat with someone.

For those planning a Christmas weekend inland, Castelluccio fits easily into a food and wine itinerary in the Celone valley: not far away are Celle di San Vito and Faeto, the two Franco-Provençal communities of Puglia, with their history and their language. Three different places, a few kilometres apart, which together paint an unexpected portrait of the southern Apennines.

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Discover Castelluccio Valmaggiore and the Alta Valle del Celone

The Pettole Festival is just one of many reasons to visit this corner of inland Puglia.

Keep exploring the site to discover the places to visit, itineraries in the Monti Dauni, other local traditions, events and the flavours of the Alta Valle del Celone. There is more than you expect.