‘A Chiena di Campagna: When The River Floods The Village

Water festivals are not a novelty but a river that gets diverted  in order to flood the town’s streets is. This is what happens every summer in the mountain village of Campagna , located not too far away from Salerno and Amalfi Coast.

The event is called ‘A Chiena, which is the dialect version of the Italian La Piena (river in flood) and runs from July to August every year. It seems to be and old folkloristic tradition born out of the necessity to clear the streets, especially in summer when the rain is a mirage. Nowadays it is an excellent respite from the heat and a divine treat for the hair (mine has never been softer after it was “washed” by the mountain waters).

We have been to the midnight Chiena and to the one that starts at 3 pm and I definitely prefer the second one. When the water is so cold the sun is more than welcome. Even with the afternoon heat, after fifty minutes spent  splashing water everywhere we were all freezing, but the fun was totally worth the temporary trembling .

If you want to get wet next time you are in the area check ‘A Chiena’s official page.

I will upload a video on Youtube as soon as I get back to Milan. In Southern Italy the internet connection has different standards – it took me four hours to upload my one minute video from the bio farm La Fattoria San Martino in Tuscany (article here).

In the meantime take a look at the pics I managed to take. I still wonder how did my camera survived.

Have you ever heard about a similar event elsewhere in the world?

P.S. Useful tips if you want to visit ‘A Chiena

1. Bring a towel and a change
2. Don’t bring any valuables or protect them as if you were about to dive in the ocean
3. Don’t go if you don’t want to get wet
4. Take some vitamins as soon as you get home