April in the Italian Almanac: stories, festivals and curiosities day by day

The days of April 0

Days with a story are highlighted; on the others you still find the towns celebrating and the village of the day.

🎉 Festivals in April

Patron saint festival In 206 days 📍 Portofino

Feast of Saint George

📅 Every year, on the first Sunday of April

On the first Sunday of April Portofino celebrates Saint George in the church dedicated to him, on the headland above the harbour. The village has 453 residents.

Patron saint festival In 225 days 📍 Ferrara

23 April is the day of Saint George, patron of Ferrara and titular of the cathedral. The palio that bears his name is painted in the Hall of the Months at Palazzo Schifanoia, with Borso d'Este watching the race.

Patron saint festival In 227 days 📍 Rovereto

Saint Mark and the procession of 5 August

📅 Every year, on 25 April; the votive procession on 5 August

Rovereto has two patrons: Saint Mark on 25 April and Mary Help of Christians on 5 August, with a votive procession that for three centuries has expressed the town's gratitude.

Festival 📍 Catania

Catania Book Festival

📅 Every year in spring

Three days of books at Palazzo della Cultura: publishers' stands, talks and workshops with more than 300 guests. The 2026 edition ran from 24 to 26 April.

Palio 📍 Oleggio

Corsa della Torta

📅 Every year, at Easter

The Easter palio, with over four hundred figures in Renaissance costume and the races in piazza Martiri.

Patron saint festival 📍 Modica

Feast of Saint George

📅 Every year, usually on the Sunday after 23 April

Carried at a run by the Sangiorgiari, the statue of Saint George spearing the dragon races through upper and lower Modica before a fireworks-lit return to the cathedral.

Patron saint festival 📍 Sambuca di Sicilia

Festa di San Giorgio Martire

📅 Every year on 23 April

On 23 April Sambuca honours its co-patron with mass and a neighbourhood procession — and with the zabbinata, when local cheesemakers hand out just-made ricotta, still warm, with bread.

Procession 📍 Bronte

Good Friday Procession

📅 Every year on Good Friday

All the town's confraternities process with the mysteries: Christ at the Column, carried by barefoot bearers, meets the Crucifix while the crowd sings the Stabat Mater.

Procession 📍 Marsala

Holy Thursday Sacra Rappresentazione

📅 Every year on Maundy Thursday

Nine costumed groups act out Christ's Passion through Marsala's old town on Holy Thursday — a living procession run by the Sant'Anna confraternity since the seventeenth century.

Procession 📍 Modica

Madonna Vasa-Vasa

📅 Every year on Easter Sunday

At noon on Easter Sunday the articulated statue of the Madonna bows and kisses the risen Christ; her black mourning cloak falls away and white doves take flight. Documented since 1645.

Procession 📍 Piana degli Albanesi

Pasqua Arbëreshe (Pashkët)

📅 Every year during Holy Week (movable date between March and April)

Holy Week in Piana follows the Byzantine rite, ending on Easter Sunday with a pontifical liturgy, a parade of women in gold-embroidered costumes and red eggs handed out in the main square.

Food festival 📍 Gangi

Sagra del Cinghiale Madonita (Wild Boar Festival)

📅 Every year, on a weekend in April, at the Foro Boario

For three days in April, Gangi's Foro Boario pairs a farming and livestock fair with a festival built around Madonie wild boar: tastings with live music, cattle contests and cheese-making demos.

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