Although Halloween is not such a big celebration in Italy, it is becoming more popular and you may find Halloween festivals, especially in the larger cities.
Here are some of Italy's top October festivals and Truffle Fairs.
Alba White Truffle Festival takes place on weekends throughout October in the Piedmont town of Alba (Piedmont map). This is one of the biggest truffle festivals in Italy. One of the events is a donkey race. Read about Alba's Truffle Festival on about's Italian Cuisine site.
Fall Truffle Festivals in Italy, 2007 - Some of the biggest truffle festivals in Piedmont, Tuscany, Umbria, Le Marche, and Emilia Romagna regions during October and November.
Boccaccesca - A gastronomic fair the first two weekends of October is held in Certaldo Alto, Tuscany. (See pictures of the red brick hill town of Certaldo Alto)
Umbria Fall Food Festivals - truffles, chestnuts, and chocolate in Umbria, the center of Italy, from 2006 but dates should be similar.
Look for other truffle and chestnut festivals in small towns in October and November, especially in northern and central Italy.
Barcolana Regatta in Trieste is the largest gathering of boats in the Mediterranean Sea. All manner of boats will be racing and there are illuminated night races. There's music, food, and wine, too. 2007 race is October 14.
Palio dei Rioni, iron horse race, takes place in Lodi, south of Milan, the first Sunday in October. Lodi's 5 neighborhoods and 3 nearby villages compete in this race pulling iron horses on wheels to win the trophy El Baston de S. Bassan. (palio definition)
Rome Film Festival, in early October, starts October 2 in 2008. The festival includes international movie premiers, a competition, and lots of events.
Musica dei Popoli is one of Italy's biggest world music festivals with performances all month in Florence. Music Festival Information
Eurochocolate is a chocolate lovers paradise. This big chocolate festival takes place in Perugia, famous for its Perugina Baci chocolates, in mid October.
Sagra del Tordo, Feast of the Thrush, is a medieval reenactment of an archery tournament. The Festival takes place in Montalcino in Tuscany the last weekend of October and is a competition between the four neighborhoods of Montalcino. Read more about the Sagra del Tordo.
Torrone Festival - Cremona claims to be the birthplace of torrone, Italian nougat. A document from October 25, 1441, indicates that torrone was made for a wedding banquet in Cremona. During the festival, the fourth weekend in October, the historic wedding is re-enacted and there's plenty of torrone.
