CVTà Street Fest was born from the meeting between Alice Pasquini, a famous Italian street artist, and Ylenia Carelli. The latter contacted Alice to create some works in Civitacampomarano, but Alice’s connection to the town, her grandfather’s homeland, gave the project a special value. Since 2016, the initiative has turned into a festival hosting international artists, making the village an open-air museum.
Over the years, the festival has gained high visibility, attracting visitors from all over Italy and beyond. In addition to the mural works, the program has expanded to include street food based on local products, board games, children’s events, and the evocative “tour of the walls,” a guided tour to discover the works scattered throughout the historic center.
What makes CVTÀ unique is the folk festival atmosphere that involves the entire community. Ladies cook typical dishes, children participate, the elderly chat with artists, merchants and associations collaborate. In addition to the murals, the festival offers film screenings with Molise Cinema, concerts, DJ sets, exhibitions and visits to the Angevin Castle.
The first edition, although temporally close, seems long gone: today Civitacampomarano is a growing tourist destination, thanks to the warm hospitality and professionalism of the community. The CivitArt association also runs “Casa Cuoco,” a vacation home located at the foot of the castle and dedicated to Vincenzo Cuoco, a distinguished historian and jurist born in the village.
The success of the festival has helped revitalize the village, which was once strategic for the area but is now threatened by depopulation and lack of services. Civitacampomarano is facing these challenges in an innovative way, without major investments or invasive construction works, but by enhancing the existing heritage through art. Thanks to the creativity and commitment of the community, the village is rediscovering a new role in the tourist scene, attracting artists and visitors from all over the world and proving that beauty and culture can be tools of rebirth.