There is something particularly special about autumn in Italy.  It comes softly, changing not only the color of the landscape, but also the rhythm of life itself.  Vineyards turn gold, olives grow heavy on their branches, and across the country, people begin gathering what the earth has spent the summer growing.

As the intense heat of summer begins to fade, vineyards fill with activity, grapes are harvested, olives are gathered and pressed into brilliant green new oil, truffles begin appearing on restaurant menus and towns throughout the country celebrate the foods that have shaped their communities for generations.

For travelers who love food and wine, September, October and November can be some of the most rewarding months of the entire year to experience Italy.

This is also the season of the sagra, the traditional Italian food festival. Some are internationally renowned events attracting visitors from around the world. Others are wonderfully local celebrations where entire villages gather around one seasonal ingredient.

From white truffles in Piedmont and Tuscany to pistachios in Sicily, chocolate in Umbria, olive oil fresh from the press and the wines and mountain foods of Trentino, here are some of our favorite autumn food festivals and harvest experiences to consider when planning an Italian journey in 2026.

If food and wine are an important part of the way you travel, take a look at Italy’s Most Delicious Season, our collection of seasonal journeys created around the vendemmia, truffles, olive harvest, autumn cooking and the flavors that define this extraordinary time of year.

1. International Alba White Truffle Fair

Alba, Piedmont

October through November 2026

Few ingredients inspire quite as much excitement as Italy’s prized white truffle, and Alba is arguably its spiritual home.

The International Alba White Truffle Fair is one of Italy’s great gastronomic events and one of the most compelling reasons for food and wine lovers to visit Piedmont in autumn.

At the center of the experience is the Alba White Truffle World Market, where visitors can see, smell and purchase carefully selected white truffles. The wider festival calendar includes truffle sensory experiences, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, food workshops and special dinners.

The beauty of visiting Alba at this time of year, however, extends far beyond the festival itself.

The surrounding Langhe Wine Area is one of Italy’s extraordinary wine regions. This is the land of Barolo, Barbaresco and Nebbiolo, with vineyard covered hills, medieval villages, exceptional restaurants and some of the country’s most interesting wineries.

Make it part of your journey: Combine Alba with Barolo, La Morra, Barbaresco, the Langhe countryside and Turin. Add a private truffle hunt with a local trifolao, winery visits and a long Piedmontese lunch and this can easily become the centerpiece of an extraordinary five to seven day autumn journey.

IVS offers full day and multi day experiences throughout Barolo and the Langhe, including private wine touring with local drivers.

2. Sagra del Pistacchio di Bronte

Bronte, Sicily

September 25 to 27 and October 2 to 4, 2026

On the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna grows one of Sicily’s most celebrated ingredients: the Bronte pistachio.

Known locally as oro verde, or green gold, the pistachio has become inseparable from the identity of this part of eastern Sicily.

The Sagra del Pistacchio di Bronte celebrates this extraordinary local product over two weekends.

Visitors can expect pistachios incorporated into everything from pastries, cakes and gelato to pesto, pasta and savory Sicilian specialties, alongside local producers and other regional foods.

The setting makes the experience even more interesting. Bronte lies on the western side of Mount Etna, allowing travelers to combine the festival with vineyards, volcanic landscapes and some of eastern Sicily’s most beautiful towns.

Make it part of your journey: Combine Bronte with Mount Etna, an Etna winery experience and beautiful Taormina.

Our Mount Etna Full Day Tour combines the extraordinary volcanic landscape around Etna with the local wines and olive oil for which this part of Sicily is famous.

3. Autumnus

Trento, Trentino

October 1 to 11, 2026

For eleven days in October, the historic center of Trento becomes a showcase for the extraordinary food and wine traditions of the surrounding mountains.

Autumnus brings together more than 100 examples of Trentino’s food, wine and agricultural excellence throughout the city’s streets, historic buildings and squares.

Visitors can meet local producers, participate in tastings, attend workshops and culinary experiences, discover regional wines and learn more about the agricultural traditions of the mountains.

Events take place in beautiful locations throughout Trento, including historic palaces and spaces around the Castello del Buonconsiglio.

For travelers exploring northern Italy, Autumnus provides an excellent opportunity to experience a side of Italian food culture that is quite different from Tuscany or Sicily.

Make it part of your journey: Combine Trento with Lake Garda, Verona, Valpolicella and the Dolomites for a spectacular northern Italian food and wine itinerary.

Our Italy’s Most Delicious Season collection includes a Northern Italy Food & Wine journey through Lake Garda, Verona, Valpolicella, Bologna and Venice, making Autumnus an excellent addition to a longer autumn journey through northern Italy.

Wine lovers can also explore our Piedmont & Northern Italy Food & Wine Journey, which includes some of northern Italy’s most celebrated wine territories.

4. Frantoi Aperti in Umbria

Throughout Umbria

October 17 to November 15, 2026

If we had to choose one experience that truly represents autumn in central Italy, watching the year’s olives being transformed into new extra virgin olive oil would be near the top of the list.

Frantoi Aperti in Umbria celebrates the olive harvest and the arrival of olio nuovo throughout Umbria.

During the event, olive mills across the region open their doors, allowing visitors to see the pressing process and taste freshly produced olive oil.

And fresh olive oil really is a different experience.

The intensely green, fragrant, slightly peppery oil is traditionally tasted simply, often over grilled bread as bruschetta, allowing the flavor of the new harvest to speak for itself.

Frantoi Aperti is particularly interesting because it is not confined to one city. It provides a reason to travel through Umbria and its countryside and small villages during one of the region’s most atmospheric seasons.

Make it part of your journey: Combine the olive harvest with Assisi, Spello, Bevagna, Montefalco, Spoleto and Perugia, together with winery visits, countryside lunches and stays at historic estates.

Our team has been working and traveling throughout Umbria for more than 20 years, and the region is particularly rewarding for travelers interested in truffles, wine, olive oil, cooking and rural Italian traditions.

5. International White Truffle Fair of Acqualagna

Acqualagna, Le Marche

October 25 and 31, and November 1, 7, 8, 14 and 15, 2026

Alba may have greater international name recognition, but serious truffle lovers should also know about Acqualagna.

Located in Le Marche, Acqualagna is one of Italy’s great truffle centers.

The International White Truffle Fair of Acqualagna celebrates the prized white truffle across several weekends, bringing together truffle hunters, producers, merchants, chefs and food lovers.

Visitors can taste and purchase truffles while discovering other specialties from this beautiful and still relatively underexplored part of central Italy.

For travelers who have already experienced Tuscany and Umbria, Le Marche offers an intriguing alternative.

Make it part of your journey: Combine Acqualagna with magnificent Urbino and the landscapes and hill towns of Le Marche, or incorporate the festival into a longer journey between Umbria and the Adriatic coast.

6. Festa del Torrone

Cremona, Lombardy

November 7 to 22, 2026

Cremona may be internationally famous for violins, but every November another of the city’s traditions takes center stage.

Torrone, Italy’s classic nougat confection made with ingredients such as honey, sugar, egg whites and nuts, has deep historic connections with Cremona.

During the Festa del Torrone, the historic center fills with celebrations dedicated to this traditional Italian sweet.

The festival traditionally includes elaborate torrone creations, tastings, historical events and celebrations connected to Cremona’s cultural heritage.

It is an excellent example of how an Italian food festival can become an introduction to a city travelers might otherwise overlook.

IVS travelers can discover Cremona as part of a wider exploration of Lombardy.

Make it part of your journey: Cremona works beautifully as part of a northern Italy itinerary connecting Milan, Lake Garda, Mantova, Parma and Emilia Romagna.

Food lovers continuing south can also spend time in Bologna, one of the great culinary cities of Italy.

7. Eurochocolate

Perugia, Umbria

November 13 to 22, 2026

Chocolate lovers should make a note of these dates.

The historic center of Perugia becomes Italy’s chocolate capital during Eurochocolate, one of Europe’s best known celebrations of chocolate and cocoa.

The 2026 festival will run from November 13 to 22 and includes chocolate makers, pastry specialists, tastings, workshops, cooking demonstrations and experiences exploring how cacao becomes chocolate.

It is also a particularly enjoyable event for families, with activities designed specifically for younger visitors.

Perugia itself is worth discovering, with medieval streets, beautiful piazzas, art, history and an excellent Umbrian food culture that extends well beyond chocolate.

And the timing could hardly be better.

Eurochocolate coincides with the final days of the Umbrian olive harvest celebrations, creating the possibility of experiencing chocolate, new olive oil, wine and truffles within the same journey.

Make it part of your journey: Combine Perugia with Assisi, Spello, Montefalco, Bevagna and an Umbrian olive estate while exploring Umbria with Italy Vacation Specialists.

This is also an ideal event to combine with the wider Italy’s Most Delicious Season experience.

8. Mostra Mercato del Tartufo di Valtopina

Valtopina, Umbria

November 14 and 15, 2026

Not every extraordinary Italian food experience needs to be internationally famous.

The Mostra Mercato del Tartufo di Valtopina is exactly the kind of smaller regional celebration that can make an Italian journey memorable.

The 44th edition takes place November 14 and 15, celebrating truffles alongside other typical foods and products from the region.

Valtopina is close to some of Umbria’s most beautiful destinations, making the festival relatively easy to incorporate into a larger itinerary.

Even better, the 2026 dates overlap with Eurochocolate in Perugia and the final weekend of Frantoi Aperti.

A traveler could therefore spend a few days experiencing chocolate in Perugia, truffles in Valtopina and freshly pressed olive oil in the Umbrian countryside.

That is November in Italy.

Make it part of your journey: Combine Valtopina with Assisi, Spello, Perugia, Montefalco, Spoleto and the surrounding Umbrian countryside.

For travelers who want their journey to revolve around food and harvest traditions, explore Italy’s Most Delicious Season.

9. San Miniato White Truffle Market

San Miniato, Tuscany

November 14 to 15, 21 to 22 and 28 to 29, 2026

Piedmont does not have a monopoly on extraordinary white truffles.

The hills surrounding San Miniato, between Florence and Pisa, are another of Italy’s great white truffle territories.

During the final three weekends of November, the beautiful hill town hosts the Mostra Mercato del Tartufo Bianco delle Colline Sanminiatesi.

For food loving travelers already considering Tuscany, this is an excellent reason to travel later in the year.

Rather than simply seeing Tuscany’s famous landscapes, visitors have an opportunity to experience one of the agricultural traditions that continues to define them.

Make it part of your journey: Combine San Miniato with Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Chianti and the Tuscan countryside.

A private truffle hunt, winery visit and olive oil tasting can transform this into an exceptional autumn food itinerary.

For travelers who want to experience the season from inside the Tuscan countryside, our Flavors of Fall in Tuscany: Olive Harvest, Truffles, Wine & Cooking journey is specifically designed around the changing autumn harvest.

The eight day journey is based on a family owned wine and olive estate near Cortona and changes with the season, from the vendemmia in September to olive oil, truffles, autumn cooking and Tuscan wines in October, November and early December.

Why November May Be Italy’s Most Delicious Month

For years, travelers have been conditioned to think that the ideal Italian vacation must take place between May and September.

We disagree.

November brings an entirely different Italy.

The grape harvest has recently finished. New wines are beginning their journey in the cellar. Olive mills are pressing the year’s harvest. White truffles are at the center of menus from Piedmont to Tuscany and Umbria. Chestnuts, mushrooms and seasonal dishes return to Italian tables.

And in many destinations, the enormous summer crowds have disappeared.

For travelers interested in food, wine, culture and meaningful local experiences, November can be one of the most interesting times of the entire year to visit.

Perhaps November really is the new September.

Experience Italy’s Most Delicious Season

A festival can be the reason for a journey, but it does not need to be the entire journey.

At Italy Vacation Specialists, we can build these events into a customized Italian itinerary, combining them with private drivers, carefully selected hotels, wineries, olive mills, truffle hunts, cooking experiences, local guides and the small towns and countryside that make autumn in Italy so special.

Rather than simply attending a festival, we want our travelers to understand the place, the people and the traditions behind it.

From the vineyards of Piedmont to the olive groves of Tuscany and Umbria and the volcanic landscapes of Sicily, autumn offers an entirely different way to experience Italy.

Come taste Italy when Italy is celebrating its harvest.

COME TASTE AUTUMN IN ITALY

Discover Italy’s Most Delicious Season and let our team create an autumn journey around the foods, festivals, people and traditions that make this one of our favorite seasons of the year.

Explore Italy’s Most Delicious Season →