Befana Regatta
📍 VeneziaOn 6 January costumed "befane" row down the Grand Canal: Italy's most photographed Epiphany.
Bonfires of Saint Anthony
📍 Sud ItaliaAround 17 January, bonfires and animal blessings light up the villages of the South.
Viareggio Carnival
📍 ViareggioGiant allegorical floats have paraded the seafront avenues since 1873: political satire in papier-mâché.
Putignano Carnival
📍 PutignanoThe carnival with Europe's oldest origins (1394) closes on Shrove Tuesday.
Cento Carnival
📍 CentoThe Emilian carnival twinned with Rio de Janeiro: floats, masks and a samba partnership.
Sanremo Music Festival
📍 SanremoThe week when all of Italy watches the same theatre: the song festival since 1951.
Nero Norcia Truffle Fair
📍 NorciaAt month's end, the market fair of the prized black truffle of the Sibillini mountains.
Almond Blossom Festival
📍 AgrigentoThe temples bloom with almond trees and international folklore between February and March.
FAI Spring Days
📍 Tutta ItaliaOne March weekend, hundreds of normally closed places open their doors.
The Running Madonna
📍 SulmonaOn Easter morning the statue of the Madonna "runs" across Piazza Garibaldi through the crowd.
The Pappamusci
📍 Francavilla FontanaIn Holy Week, barefoot hooded confraternity brothers walk in silent pilgrimage.
Lunissanti
📍 CastelsardoOn Holy Monday, some of Sardinia's oldest confraternity chants fill the village night.
Explosion of the Cart
📍 FirenzeOn Easter morning, the dove-shaped rocket ignites a cart of fireworks before the cathedral.
The Diavolata
📍 AdranoAt Easter, angels and devils contend in a centuries-old sacred play.
Race of the Ceri
📍 GubbioOn 15 May, three teams race uphill carrying four-hundred-kilo wooden "candles" on their shoulders.
Calendimaggio
📍 AssisiThe two historic factions compete with processions and songs, returning the town to the Middle Ages.
Fish Festival
📍 CamogliOn the second Sunday, tons of fish fried in a record-breaking giant pan (since 1952).
Noto Flower Festival
📍 NotoOn the third Sunday, Via Nicolaci is carpeted with designs made of petals.
Feast of the Sensa
📍 VeneziaThe "marriage of the sea": the water procession renews the Serenissima's thousand-year rite.
Festival of the Gigli
📍 NolaEight 25-metre obelisks dance on the bearers' shoulders: UNESCO-listed.
Corpus Domini Infiorate
📍 SpelloA night of collective work for petal carpets over which the procession passes.
Luminara of San Ranieri
📍 PisaOn 16 June the riverbanks glow with tens of thousands of small lamps: Pisa by candlelight.
Aria di Festa
📍 San Daniele del FriuliIn late June the ham houses open and the town becomes one collective table.
Oswald von Wolkenstein Ride
📍 CastelrottoAn equestrian tournament among the farms of the Alpe di Siusi, with costumes and true tradition.
Palio of Provenzano
📍 SienaOn 2 July, the year's first race: ninety seconds worth a year of waiting.
Feast of the Redeemer
📍 VeneziaOn the third weekend, the boat bridge to the Giudecca and fireworks over the basin.
Cavalry Joust
📍 SulmonaThe town's districts compete on horseback in Piazza Garibaldi, amid ladies and flag-wavers.
San Giacomo Illuminations
📍 CaltagironeOn 24-25 July the majolica staircase is lit with thousands of oil lamps in patterns.
Umbria Jazz
📍 PerugiaTen days when the Umbrian acropolis becomes a world jazz capital.
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Palio of the Assumption
📍 SienaOn 16 August, the second race: the square fills beyond belief.
Barrel Race
📍 MontepulcianoOn the last Sunday, the districts push 80-kilo barrels uphill to the cathedral.
Palio of the Normans
📍 Piazza ArmerinaAt mid-August, the re-enactment of Count Roger's arrival with processions and joust.
Sant'Oronzo Cavalcade
📍 OstuniRiders in red livery escort the patron saint through the White City.
Summer Jamboree
📍 SenigalliaThe world capital of 1940s-50s rock'n'roll: vintage, swing and half a million visitors.
Historical Regatta
📍 VeneziaOn the first Sunday, the historical procession and races on the Grand Canal.
Feast of San Gennaro
📍 NapoliOn 19 September the city awaits the miracle of its patron's blood in the cathedral.
Chilli Pepper Festival
📍 DiamanteThe seafront becomes Italy's spicy capital: contests, culture and fire on the tongue.
The Mastrogiurato
📍 LancianoThe re-enactment of the medieval investiture that opened the great free fairs.
Douja d'Or
📍 AstiThe Piedmontese wine fair animates the palaces of the centre for a week.
International White Truffle Fair
📍 AlbaFrom October to December, the world's most expensive scent draws gourmets from every continent.
Grape Festival
📍 MarinoOn the first Sunday, the fountains pour wine: Italy's oldest harvest festival (1925).
Barcolana
📍 TriesteOn the second Sunday, thousands of sails fill the gulf: among the world's most crowded regattas.
Varola Chestnut Festival
📍 MelfiThe chestnuts of Mount Vulture take the stage beneath Frederick II's castle.
Eurochocolate
📍 PerugiaThe city turns to chocolate: sculptures, tastings and pilgrims with a sweet tooth.
White Truffle Market Fair
📍 San MiniatoOn November weekends, Tuscany's truffle capital opens its scales and boards.
Merano WineFestival
📍 MeranoWine excellence in the Art Nouveau Kurhaus: Italian wine's most elegant appointment.
Open Oil Mills
📍 Tutta ItaliaNew oil is tasted where it is born: mills open across Umbria, Tuscany and Puglia.
The 'Ndocciata
📍 AgnoneOn Christmas Eve, monumental fan-shaped torches set the town of bells alight.
San Gregorio Armeno
📍 NapoliThe Nativity-makers' street at its peak: artisan figurines and record crowds.
Christmas Markets
📍 Bolzano e MeranoSouth Tyrol's historic markets: mulled wine, crafts and a Mitteleuropean atmosphere.
Feast of Saint Lucy
📍 SiracusaOn 13 December, the patron saint crosses Ortigia in a procession of light.
Les dates exactes changent d'une année à l'autre : vérifie toujours les canaux officiels de l'événement avant de partir.