Campli’s italic porchetta Feast
Born in 1964, Campli’s italic porchetta Feast is the first oldest gastronomic festival in Abruzzo, counted among the first in Italy after that of the Alba truffle. It was conceived by the journalist Fernando Aurini and by the scholar Giammario Sgattoni, as well as by the Archdeacon of the time Don Antonio Mazzitti who, as soon as he arrived in the parish in Campli, tried to bring back the Patronal Feast of 8 September, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, on the essential canons and religious. In a mediation table the Mayor of the time, Ubaldo Scevola summoned the creators of the event together with the pro-loco association, thus starting a unique event of its kind Campli’s Porchetta has very ancient origins, prepared since the times of the Pretuzi - as shown by the remains of roasted pigs found in the Necropolis of Campovalano - its production and marketing was already regulated in the municipal statutes of 1578.
From 1964 to today, with the exception of some editions skipped around the 1970s, his Majesty Campli's Italic Porchetta competes in a sort of Olympics of taste. Each year the best pork master of the year is elected among the participants in the competition. During the evenings of the event, all the roasted parts of the "divine pig" are taken by surprise and subjected to tasting, paired with local vegetables, local wine and the inevitable Campli soda. The juries of experts who take turns every evening, meet in a restaurant in the historic center to judge the quality of the meat, the cooking, the spiciness and flavor and, fundamental detail, the consistency of the crust which must be crunchy but not glassy, tasty but not bitter, golden but not scorched, dry on the palate, in short, a real delicacy.
Campli’s porchetta is distinguished from all the other porchettas of central Italy for the spicing of the meats and the craftsmanship.
The porchetta masters supported by helpers and family members carry out a meticulous and long work to prepare the porchetta, especially in the week of the festival. The uniqueness of the craftsmanship begins with the selection of the pork which must not weigh more than 100 kg; we start by boning the pork, followed by salting and rest; then the manual binding takes place followed by an ancient blanching technique, with herbs and spices from the nearby Twin Mountains; and finish the slow cooking, strictly in a wood oven. All the secrets are kept in the skilled artisan hands that differentiate the porchetta di Campli from all other types of this ancient food, now called "street" and which is prepared in many regions of Italy, each following territorial and traditional specificities.
This is why it cannot be said that porchetta is all the same.
Campli’s Italic Porchetta Feast, thanks to the voluntary work of the Pro-loco City of Campli Association, takes place every year, during the week following August 15th; there are several collateral events of music, culture and sport that enrich one of the most popular summer festivals in the province of Teramo.
The official site of the Sagra della porchetta Italica di Campli is: www.sagradellaporchettaitalica.com
From 2020, Campli’s Italic Porchetta Feast, the oldest gastronomic event in Abruzzo, as well as one of the summer events that best characterize the entire region, has obtained the prestigious "Quality Festival" award issued by UNPLI.
The merit of having given new luster to an event that celebrates a gastronomic tradition of ancient origins, already documented in the Municipal Statutes renewed in 1575 by Margherita D'Austria, goes to the Pro Loco City of Campli Association, to the collaboration of the Municipality and to the porchetta makers who from 1964 to today compete to obtain the title of best porchetta maker of the year.
