You might have already been to Italy and seen the main sights. But to do something a bit different (and away from tourists) there’s a great option you might not have tried yet: Italian festivals.
These are places where real Italians go, so they’re perfect for getting to know Italian culture and traditions (and eat really good Italian food).
In this post, you’ll also learn about important Italian public holidays. They’re full of fun events you can join, but it’s also helpful to know about them so you’re ready for any shop closures or changes in opening hours.
You’ll learn useful words and phrases so you can ask questions and chat about the different festivals with locals.
Carnevale
Pronunciation: kar-neh-VAH-leh
Carnevale is an Italian festival that takes place just before Lent. It usually happens in February, but the exact date changes depending on when Pasqua (Easter) falls.
You can expect to see colorful parades, costumes, and fancy masks during Carnevale. One of the typical foods you can try is chiacchiere, pastries whose name means “chatter,” probably because of the crunchy sound they make when you eat them.
There are lots of places in Italy where Carnevale celebrations are held, including Viareggio and Ivrea, but the most well known Carnevale is the Carnevale di Venezia (the Venice Carneval).
Sagre
Pronunciation: SAH-greh
Sagre (or sagra if you’re talking about just one) are so uniquely Italian that there isn’t really a perfect word for them in English.
The sagre usually take place in a small town and are centred around one particular type of food. For example, you’ll find the Sagra del Tartufo (truffle festival) in Piedmont, the Sagra delle Polpette (meatball festival) in Puglia, and there’s even a Sagra dell'Aglio Rosso (red garlic festival) in Abruzzo.
What makes the sagre special is the atmosphere. You get to eat homemade food using local ingredients, there’s often live music, and the people who go are mostly locals. It’s not something put on for tourists, it’s something Italians genuinely enjoy.
There are different sagre all over Italy throughout the year, although autumn and summer is when you’ll see them the most. You can find them online, for example if you type “sagre + the place you’re in + the year”, for example “ sagre Cagliari 2025 ”.
You can also ask at an infopoint or you might see them advertised on posters.
Festa della Liberazione
Pronunciation: FEH-stah DEL-lah lee-beh-rah-TSYOH-neh
Festa della Liberazione (Liberation Day) is a public holiday celebrated every year on April 25th across Italy.
It marks the end of Nazi occupation and fascist rule in 1945.
There are lots of cultural events on Festa della Liberazione, like concerts, art shows and film screenings.
A great bonus if you’re in Italy on April 25th: many museums and archaeological parks offer free entry.
Festa della Repubblica
Pronunciation: FEH-stah DEL-lah reh-POOB-blee-kah
La festa della Repubblica (Republic Day) celebrates Italy voting to become a republic in 1946, after the Second World War.
It takes place on June 2nd and it’s a day off work for Italians, so you might find that some businesses are closed or have reduced hours.
The main celebrations for La festa della Repubblica take place in Rome. If you visit Rome at this time, you might see a flyover by the Frecce Tricolori (tricolored arrows) or military parades. At the Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland), the president lays a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Palio di Siena
Pronunciation: PAH-lyoh dee SYEH-nah
The Palio di Siena is a famous horse race held twice a year (on July 2nd and August 16th) in Siena’s main square, Piazza del Campo .
Each horse represents one of the city’s contrade (districts), and there’s strong rivalry between each district.
In the days before the race, you’ll see parades, drummers, and flag-throwers all over the city, as well as lots of medieval costumes. On race day, each horse is even blessed in a church.
The night before the race, every contrada (district) hosts an open-air dinner.
The good news is Il Palio di Siena is free to attend. Anyone can enter the square and watch the race.
Ferragosto
Pronunciation: Fehr-rah-GOH-stoh
Ferragosto takes place every year on August 15th. It’s not a festival in itself, it’s a festa nazionale (public holiday). It dates back to Roman times, when time was set for people to celebrate and rest after the harvest period.
Although it’s not a festival, there are usually events happening during ferragosto , like fireworks displays, processions, and beach parties.
August is already when most Italians take their summer break, but on ferragosto , you can be sure almost no one is working. Cities tend to be very quiet, beaches are busy, and many shops close.
Since it’s a popular time for families and friends to get together, it’s a good idea to book a table in advance if you plan to eat out. Restaurants fill up quickly!
L’Immacolata Concezione
Pronunciation: Leem-mah-koh-LAH-tah con-cheh-TSYOH-neh
L’Immacolata Concezione (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception) is an Italian public holiday, celebrated on December 8th in honour of the Virgin Mary.
On this day, the Pope traditionally visits Piazza di Spagna in Rome to lay a wreath at the statue of Mary.
It’s a time when many towns switch on their festive lights, and you’ll find special church services, concerts, and local events.
It’s also a great day to visit the mercatini di Natale (Christmas markets). Or there are sagre , like the Sagra del Torrone, in Faenza, where you get to eat plenty of torrone , a traditional Christmas nougat.
Festa dell’Unità
Pronunciation: FEH-stah del-loo-nee-TAH
Festa dell’Unità (literally: Unity Festival) o Festa Democratica is an annual festival that started as a political event organized by Italy’s Democratic Party.
Although it started out as a political event, lots of people go even if they’re not interested in the political side of things or don’t support the party.
Some events start in July, but most events are in September.
At festa dell’unità, you can go to all kinds of events, like concerts, food stands, games, raffles and art exhibitions. There are also different pop-up restaurants where you can try various regional specialities.
Festa del Santo Patrono
Pronunciation: FEH-stah del SAHN-toh pah-TROH-noh
The Festa del Santo Patrono (Patron Saint Day) is a special day celebrated in towns and cities across Italy to honour their local patron saint.
Each town has its own date for the festa . The celebrations usually include religious processions, music, fireworks, artisan markets, and lots of local food.
If you’re in the town on their Patron Saint Day, you might find that shops and businesses are closed.
Useful Words and Phrases for Italian Festivals
Italian festivals aren’t just fun to go to. There are lots of really useful Italian words and phrases to do with festivals and celebrating that you can use throughout the year.
They’re useful for understanding important information while you’re traveling around Italy, whether it’s finding out about closing times or asking which festivals are happening nearby.
| Ci sono dei festival interessanti? | Are there any interesting festivals? | Chee SOH-no day FEH-sti-vahl een-tehr-reh-SAHN-tee? |
| Quando inizia il festival? | When does the festival start? | KWAHN-doh ee-NEE-tsyah eel FEH-sti-vahl? |
| C’è un concerto stasera? | Is there a concert this evening? | Cheh oon kon-CHEHR-toh stah-SEH-rah? |
| Quali eventi ci sono? | What events are there? | KWAH-lee eh-VEHN-tee chee SOH-no? |
| È gratis | It’s free | Eh GRAH-tees |
| Ingresso libero | Free entry | In-GREH-soh LEE-beh-roh |
| Il ponte | A long holiday weekend (lit. the bridge) | Eel PON-teh |
| Uno spettacolo | A show | OO-noh spet-TAH-koh-loh |
| I fuochi d’artificio | Fireworks | Ee FOH-kee dar-tee-FEE-choh |
| Una mostra | An exhibition | OO-nah MOHS-trah |
| I mercatini di Natale | Christmas markets | Ee mer-kah-TEE-nee dee nah-TAH-leh |
| Le luci | Lights | Leh LOO-chee |
| Il palco | The stage | Eel PAHL-koh |
| La musica dal vivo | Live music | La MOO-zee-kah dal VEE-voh |
| Una parata | A parade | OO-nah pah-RAH-tah |
| Una corsa di cavalli | A horse race | OO-nah COR-sah dee cah-VAHL-lee |
| Una maschera | A mask | OO-nah MAS-keh-rah |
| Gli stand gastronomici | Food stands | Lyee stahnd gas-troh-NOH-mee-chee |
| Cibo locale | Local food | CHEE-boh loh-KAH-leh |
| Un paesino | A little town | OON pah-eh-ZEE-noh |
Italian Festivals: What to Know Before You Go: Review
Now you’ve learnt about some of Italy’s most important festivals and what makes each one special. Here’s a quick review of the main details.
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Carnevale
This festival takes place before Lent and includes parades, masks, and costumes. The Carnevale di Venezia (Venice Carnival) is one of the most famous.
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Sagre
Sagre are local food festivals. They’re great for tasting homemade dishes in a friendly, authentic atmosphere with mostly locals.
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Festa della Liberazione
Held on April 25th, this public holiday marks Italy’s liberation from Nazi rule in 1945. Expect cultural events and free entry to many museums and archaeological sites.
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Festa della Repubblica
Celebrated June 2nd, this day honors Italy becoming a republic in 1946. There are several events to commemorate the day, including parades and military flyovers.
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Palio di Siena
This famous horse race happens twice a year in Siena’s main square, Piazza del Campo. The race is free to watch.
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Ferragosto
Ferragosto , on August 15th, is a national holiday when most Italians are off work. It’s typical to get together with friends and family. Book well in advance if you’re planning on eating out on this day.
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L’Immacolata Concezione
December 8th is a public holiday with religious origin, honouring the Virgin Mary. You’ll find church services, festive lights, and Christmas markets across Italy.
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Festa dell’Unità
Originally a political event, this September festival now draws crowds for concerts, games, food stands, and more. It’s fun even if you’re not into politics.
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Festa del Santo Patrono
Every Italian town honors its own patron saint with processions, music, fireworks, and local food. Dates vary and you might find that shops are closed in the town that’s celebrating it.
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: Festivals are a really important part of Italian culture. They’re often linked to food, religion, and the traditions of particular regions.
K: Knowing what festivals are happening in Italy can help you plan your trip better, whether you’re hoping to take part in the celebrations or just want to avoid surprises, like shops and restaurants being closed.
But before we get started, can we ask you a quick favore? If you’re listening to this on your podcast app, could you click the subscribe or follow button? This way you’ll get notified when we release a new episode and you’ll help our podcast grow so we can keep making free lessons like this. Grazie!
M: Our friend Josh recently sent us a voice note asking us what he should get up to on his trip to Italy this July.
K: In the dialogue, you’ll hear Matteo and I talking about what festivals or sagre , which is a type of food festival, we think he should go to.
Josh: Ciao ragazzi! Vengo in Italia il prossimo weekend. Ci sono dei festival interessanti?
K: C’è la sagra dei fagioli!
M: Noo, dai! La sagra dei fagioli no!
K: Perché? Le sagre sono speciali per noi: vai in un paesino, mangi il cibo locale con la gente del posto…
M: Ma quel weekend c’è il festival Umbria Jazz.
K: C’è la musica anche alla sagra dei fagioli
K: Josh started out by saying:
M: Ciao ragazzi! Vengo in Italia il prossimo weekend - Hi guys! I’m coming to Italy next weekend. Literally:
Ciao - hi
Ragazzi - guys
Vengo - I come
In - in
Italia - Italy
Il - the
Prossimo - next
Weekend - weekend
K: Josh has been to Italy loads, so he’s already done a lot of the main tourist things. That’s why he wanted to do something a bit different, so he asked:
M: Ci sono dei festival interessanti? - Are there any interesting festivals? Literally:
Ci sono - there are
Dei - some
Festival - festivals
Interessanti - interesting
Ci sono dei festival interessanti?
K: By the way, whether you’re talking about one festival or several festivals, in Italian it’s just festival .
M: Although the word is the same in English and Italian, to say festival the really Italian way, you have to open your mouth a lot more to say the vowels, like you usually have to do with vowels in Italian. So the first vowel is an “eh” sound, festival . Then the second vowel, the i, is a clear “ee” sound, so it’s fes-tee-val. And then for the “ah” at the end, you have to open you’re mouth like you’re going to the dentist and saying “ah”.
So putting that altogether, to say festival the Italian way it’s: festival (x2).
K: So it’s not like English where the “i” in the middle almost gets swallowed and it almost sounds like there’s a “uh” rather than an “a” at the end, fes-ti-vuhl
I wanted to suggest one of my favourite types of festivals to Josh
M : C’è la sagra dei fagioli! - there’s the bean festival. Literally:
C’è - there is
La - the
Sagra - festival
Dei - of the
Fagioli - beans
K: This type of festival, which is called a sagra , is a really unique Italian thing. It’s basically where a place, usually a small town, organises a festival around a particular type of food. You can see them advertised on posters around Italy or you can look them up as well. I love them, I’ve been to a sagra della zucca, pumpkin festival, where I had pumpkin risotto and an Italian version of pumpkin pie, and even a sagra della rana, the frog festival, where I had polenta and frog’s legs!
M: There’s pretty much a sagra for every type of Italian food you can think of and there are different ones throughout the year, it’s not just in the summer. But being Italian, I’m very used to them and I don’t think of them as a cool place to go to.
K: Which is why Matteo said:
M: Noo, dai! La sagra dei fagioli no! - Noo, come on! Not the bean festival! Literally:
Noo - No
Dai! - you give
La - the
Sagra - festival
Dei - of the
Fagioli - beans
No - no
K: The word that Matteo used, dai is a very common, everyday Italian expression which means a few different things, including “come on”.
But since I’m not Italian and the sagre still seem exciting to me, I said:
M: Perché? Le sagre sono speciali per noi - Why? The sagra festivals are special for us.
Perché? - Why?
Le - the
Sagre - festivals
Sono - are
Speciali - special
Per - for
Noi - us
Perché? Le sagre sono speciali per noi
K: So you’ve heard the word sagra and also sagre. The only difference is singular and plural, so one of these festivals is a sagra , with an “a” on the end, so it makes an “ah” sound, sagra. Like the sagra dei fagioli , the bean festival, and then sagre is the plural word, with an “e” on the end that makes an “eh” sound, sagre .
Then I added why I like them so much:
M: Vai in un paesino , you go to a little town. Literally:
Vai - you go
In - in
Un - a
Paesino - little town
K: And then I added:
M: mangi il cibo locale con la gente del posto - you eat local food with local people. Literally:
mangi - you eat
Il - the
Cibo - food
Locale - local
Con - with
La - the
Gente - people
Del - of the
Posto - place
K: I really like these festivals because you go to a paesino , a nice, little Italian town and you sit with people who are actually from the place, so it’s a great chance to chat with locals. And it’s usually all outdoors. Everyone sits together on benches and it’s really informal.
M: One of the great things about sagre is they’re relaxed and affordable. It’s not like eating in a fancy restaurant, they’re often organised by local communities or volunteers and the food is homemade.
K: But Matteo’s still not convinced so he said:
M: Ma quel weekend c’è il festival Umbria Jazz - but that weekend there’s the Umbria Jazz festival. Literally:
Ma - but
Quel - that
Weekend - weekend
C’è - there is
Il - the
Festival - festival
Umbria Jazz - Umbria Jazz
Ma quel weekend c’è il festival Umbria Jazz
K: Jazz is another word that’s the same in Italian and English, but the pronunciation is different. In Italian the AH sounds like an EH, and it’s almost as if there’s a d before the z.
M: Jazz (x2)
M: So to talk about Umbria Jazz in Italian, you’d say Umbria Jazz.
K: Umbria is a very pretty part of Italy. There are lots of medieval towns and impressive scenery.
M: And the jazz festival there is one of the most famous in the world. It's held every year and famous international jazz musicians come to perform.
K: The most famous Umbria Jazz Festival is in the summer, but there’s also a smaller one in winter that’s held around New Year.
Still, it’s not the only Italian festival with music, which is why I said:
M : C’è la musica anche alla sagra dei fagioli - there’s also music at the bean festival
C’è - there’s
La - the
Musica - music
Anche - also
Alla - at the
Sagra - festival
Dei - of the
Fagioli - beans
C’è la musica anche alla sagra dei fagioli
K: There’s often music at the sagre festivals, so you can get up and dance after you’ve had some food and drink.
M: Or just sit and enjoy the music while you’re eating and chatting. But of course, it’s not comparable to the music you would find at Umbria Jazz!
K: Now that you’ve heard a few recommendations about Italian festivals, let’s see if you can remember some of the key words so you can use them on your trip to Italy. How do you say festivals the Italian way?
[...]
M: Festival (x2). You have to open your mouth wider to say the vowel sounds and you don’t add an “s”, even if you’re talking about more than one.
K: How can I ask the very important question “are there any interesting festivals?”
[...]
M: Ci sono dei festival interessanti? (x2)
K: What’s the name of the special type of food festival where you get to eat local, homemade food?
[...]
M: La sagra, for example la sagra dei fagioli - the bean festival. La sagra dei fagioli.
K: And if you wanted to say not just one sagra , but more than one, in the plural, what would it be?
[...]
M: Sagre (x2)
K: How would you say “you eat local food”, which is one of the main perks of the sagre
[...]
M: Mangi cibo locale (x2)
K: And finally, what’s the name of the famous jazz festival?
[...]
M: Umbria Jazz.
K: Let’s listen to the whole conversation again: K: C’è la sagra dei fagioli!
M: Noo, dai! La sagra dei fagioli no!
K: Perché? Le sagre sono speciali per noi: vai in un paesino, mangi il cibo locale con la gente del posto…
M: Ma quel weekend c’è il festival Umbria Jazz.
K: C’è la musica anche alla sagra dei fagioli
Matteo and I were clearly not going to agree on which festival was best for Josh to go to…Let’s find out which one he chose!
J: Ovviamente la sagra dei fagioli. Grazie!
K: This means “ of course, the bean festival. Thank you!”
M: [...]
K: Of course, there are loads of Italian festivals we didn’t get a chance to mention, so we’ve put together a list of the main ones for you on our blog. You can read the description and see which one you like the most.
M: We also give tips on which festivals and public holidays you might need to work around, like one very important Italian holiday that almost grinds the whole country to a standstill.
K: To find out what we’re talking about, plus important phrases to ask about festivals and more in Italy, click the link in the description to head over to our website, or go to italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast and search for episode 192.
M: See you next time.
K: Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz: Italian Festivals
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Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Italian Festivals
Vocabulary
Ci sono dei festival interessanti? = Are there any interesting festivals?
Quando inizia il festival? = When does the festival start?
C’è un concerto stasera? = Is there a concert this evening?
Quali eventi ci sono? = What events are there?
È gratis = It’s free
Vengo in Italia il prossimo weekend = I’m coming to Italy next weekend
Le sagre = Typical Italian Food Festivals
Un paesino = A small town
Il cibo locale = Local food
Flashcards: Italian Festivals
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
