As summer’s heat begins to moderate and Italians return from their traditional August vacations, perhaps the loveliest season for visiting Italy begins. While Italy may not have the autumn foliage that turns the northeastern US to red and gold in the fall, it has hillsides of vineyards turning brilliant colors. Morning vistas in Lombardy, the Veneto and Piemonte might even be backed by snow-covered mountains as the first layer of white descends on the Alps and Dolomites. Farther south, beaches that were elbow-to-elbow in the summer are serene, and the sun still warm.
Celebrating the Harvest
Italians take full advantage of the beautiful fall weather to celebrate the harvest of everything from grapes to fungus, and saints Gennaro and Michael have further obliged by having their feast days at just the right time to use as an excuse for harvest festivals. Towns in the wine regions – Piemonte, Tuscany, the Veneto and elsewhere – are abuzz with the grape harvest. With the ranks of tourists thinning, every little village seems to celebrate with a festival that is planned for locals – but welcomes visitors warmly. Food is not the only thing that’s celebrated – music, historic events, sports and the arts provide further incentive to visit Italy in the fall.
Highlights of Autumn Travel in Italy
- Regatta Storica, Venice – perhaps the most colorful of all events in this city on water, the boat race on the first Sunday in September envelops the entire city in festivities.
- San Gennaro Day, Naples—Beginning on September 19, the city observes an entire week of religious processions, markets and festivities.
- San Michele day, everywhere -- September 29 is celebrated throughout Italy, and the timing makes it a natural to combine with a harvest fair or festival.
- Salon del Gusto, Turin – The Slow Food movement’s annual show and conference in late October draws food-lovers from all over the world to taste, discuss and revel in fine foods. It’s held in the heart of one of Italy’s major food producing regions.
- Eurochocolate, Perugia – Everything chocolate is celebrated and sampled in mid-October.
- White Truffle Festival, Alba – The charming small city near Turin is the center of white truffle hunting, and the trifolao (truffle hunters) bring the best of their finds to sell to the world’s top chefs, the last week in October.
- Rome Film Festival, Rome – Movie previews and film-related events fill the Eternal City for a week in mid-October.
- Musica dei Popoli, Florence – Mid-October through mid-November is given over to the popular music of all parts of the world.
- Gran Premio di Monza – Italy’s premier auto racing event, its answer to the Grand Prix, at the Autodromo Nazionale in Monza, north of Milan.
Even without planning to attend one of these festivals, travelers will very likely find themselves accidentally in the midst of at least one as they explore Italy in September and October. And even without a festival, they can be assured of eating well on the abundance of local harvests.
Barbara Rogers - Traveler, writer and guidebook author with a passion for those lands that border the Mediterranean Sea and the neighboring Atlantic ...
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