In the heart of summer, the town of Campagna turns into a river. It is the festival of ’A Chiena, which in the local dialect means “full”, and recalls the ancient phenomenon of water diversion of the Tenza River along the streets of the historic centre.
The water flows copiously between the paving stones, dragging with it laughter, buckets and traditions.
The practice, born centuries ago for hygienic and plumbing reasons, over time became a collective ritual: a way to “wash” the city and symbolically purify the community.
Today the festival represents the very soul of Campagna, a bridge between the water that nourishes and the water that remembers. The streets of the centre, like Corso Umberto I, are filled with people participating in the “Promenade”, walking through the water, or to the “Buckets”, when the inhabitants throw water at each other in a choral game that mixes devotion and joy.
The Chiena water is not just a show: it is a sign of continuity with the history of the territory and with the ancestral relationship between Campagna and its springs, where the Tenza River was born and returns as a symbol of regeneration and celebration.
According to historical sources, the custom of “flooding” dates back to centuries when river water was manually diverted through canals dug along the main roads to clean them of dust and rubbish. In summer, the water was also used to cool the air and irrigate the town centre's vegetable gardens.
Over time, the practical function became intertwined with a deeper meaning: water as an element of rebirth, solidarity and shared celebration. After the 1980 earthquake, the community of Campagna rediscovered the tradition and turned it into a civil and identity ritual, a symbol of the ability to rebirth and revive a wounded city.
Local chronicles recall the first modern editions as moments of great participation: citizens, emigrants and tourists together in a gesture that “washed away” the fears of the past and celebrated the continuity of the campagnesa community.
’A Chiena is more than a folkloric event: it is a collective representation of memory and belonging. Water becomes a symbolic language of purification and rebirth, an element that unites generations, countries and histories.
During the festival, the city reclaims its urban and natural space: balconies fill with flags, shops open, children run through the waves of the corso and tourists learn to recognise the depth of a tradition that is both sacred and secular.
The path of water is carefully traced by the Tenza canal, which enters the centre through an ancient stone conduit and then flows back down into the valley. The ritual of the “flood” is often accompanied by songs, performances and moments of reflection on water such as common good - a festival that renews the relationship between nature and culture every year.
’A Chiena is not just a country tradition: it is a universal symbol of renaissance, a gesture of love that the city offers itself and those who visit it.
