Italy's Best Festivals

If you are visiting Italy in January, leave any New Year's resolutions at home. The month begins with Christian celebrations for the Three Kings, one of Italy's most important religious events. Enjoy costume processions, sweets and wine, plus a regatta with men dressed in witch costumes (don’t ask).

Spring has almost (but not quite) sprung across much of the Italian peninsula. This month's major events and celebrations feature food, design, wine and an eccentric Tuscan Palio with donkeys instead of racehorses.

Spring has almost (but not quite) sprung across much of the Italian peninsula. This month's major events and celebrations feature food, design, wine and an eccentric Tuscan Palio with donkeys instead of racehorses.

Most years Easter falls in April. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are a major focus for Christians across Italy — spectacularly so in Florence. Italy's many annual food festivals get going, with artichokes and donuts in the spotlight during the month.

Events come thick and fast in one of the busiest months on Italy's festival calendar. There's food and wine (of course), but also religious celebrations, classical music and a birthday party for one of Italy's best-known fictional characters.

You are spoilt for choice when you visit this month. June is Pisa's pageant and party time, centred on the banks of the Arno. Elsewhere you can attend the opening of a major opera festival or Florence's unique take on a "football" game (actually more like a fight in medieval dress).

Hear Puccini opera outdoors and summer jazz. Watch gondolas and horses in historic races. Eat your fill of wild boar and witness a sacred festival staged underwater. These are just a sample of many unique July events in Italy.

High summer is when Italians turn to food, film and the great family getaway. Ferragosto — August 15 — is the biggest national holiday, marked with everything from medieval horseraces to a giant fireworks display. Elsewhere, Chianti locals celebrate a favourite fruit (not the grape) and southern Tuscans race giant wine barrels uphill.

Watch gondolas race Italy’s most romantic coastal towns. Treat your palette to an abundance of Chianti Classico and Pecorino. Experience two magical Tuscan cities during a religious procession. These are just a sample of many unique September events in Italy.

Discover the unique traditions and events of an Italian October. Summer is no more. But you can still check out the world's biggest chocolate festival, vintage cycle racing and a fountain that flows with wine, not water. Dive into our October events guide!

It's harvest time across much of Italy and many of this month's major festivals revolve around food. November begins with the walnuts, figs and chestnuts of Ognissanti. Umbrians celebrate Italy's best olive oil (according to locals). Over three weekends in the Tuscan town of San Miniato, it's all about the white truffle.

Events and festivities this December revolve around Christmas. The Christian holiday heralds religious processions and events, such as Midnight Mass at the Vatican. There is an abundance of eating, wine and song. Look forward to a music festival in one of Umbria’s enchanting cities and a historical re-enactment and food festival celebrating Tuscany’s most prized game meat.