As the colours of autumn paint villages and hills, a packed calendar of cultural, food, wine, and sporting events transforms Italy into an open-air stage.
From the great regatta in the Gulf of Trieste to the courtyards of Sardinia, from the red carpet of Roman cinema to the white truffle of the Langhe, here's what to do in Italy in October 2026 and where to plan a weekend getaway.
Rome Film Festival
The 21st Rome Film Fest will be held from October 13 to 25, 2026, with a full thirteen days of programming. The main venue remains the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, in the Flaminio district, but the program also includes other spaces and cultural institutions in the capital.
The opening film will be Paolo Genovese's The Noise of New Things, presented in the Grand Public section during the opening ceremony hosted by Ema Stokholma. Anyone can purchase a ticket and attend the screenings, making the Festival an accessible experience in the best sense of the word.
International Alba White Truffle Fair
Moving on to gastronomy, the 96th International Alba White Truffle Fair, in Piedmont, is not to be missed, from October 10th to December 6th 2026. This year's theme will be "Authentic Relationships," a reference to the profound bond between man, nature, the trifolao (truffle hunter), and the territory.
The heart of the event is the Alba White Truffle World Market, which opens every Saturday and Sunday in the charming Cortile della Maddalena, with entrance from Piazza Falcone. But the program extends far beyond the stalls.
The 2026 edition includes cooking shows with over 40 national and international chefs (many Michelin-starred), tasting workshops, sensory analyses, wine masterclasses, and family events.
Barcolana 58
The Barcolana is the world's largest sailing regatta, an event that annually brings together over 20,000 sailors and more than 300,000 spectators along the shores of Trieste.
The 58th edition, "Be Barcolana," is scheduled for October 2-11, 2026, with the major Autumn Cup regatta scheduled for Sunday, October 11, at 10:30 a.m.
The route winds along a 13-nautical-mile quadrilateral in the Gulf of Trieste.
- The start is located between Barcola and Miramare Castle.
- The final stage takes the crews toward the Old Port Breakwater, with a spectacular finish in front of Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia.
The 2026 edition, a must-mark on your October calendar, features over 500 events spread across the entire Friuli Venezia Giulia region. Among the most notable new features is the return of the Amerigo Vespucci to the San Giusto basin, this year's guest of honour.
Lucca Comics & Games
Lucca Comics & Games, Europe's largest pop culture festival, turns sixty. The new edition will take place from October 28th to November 1st, 2026, with the theme "Legacy," celebrating six decades of comics, games, cosplay, and shared imagination.
The festival spans the entire walled city of Lucca, with squares, alleyways, churches, and historic buildings transformed into stands, stages, and exhibition spaces. The exhibitor area covers approximately 15,000 square metres, divided between publishers of comics, board and card games, video games, manga, and anime. The confirmed guest list is extensive: Go Nagai, Frank Miller, Jonathan Hickman, Tillie Walden, Toru Fujisawa, and Hideki Kamiya.
Venetian Villas Day
The 5th edition of the Venetian Villas Day is scheduled for October 17 and 18, 2026: a full weekend in which hundreds of Venetian and Friulian villas open their doors to visitors with experiences that go far beyond simple guided tours.
For 2026, over 75 villas offer more than 130 bookable experiences, divided into thematic strands to make choosing easier.
Autumn in Barbagia
Far from the beaches and summer postcards, authentic Sardinia can be discovered during Autunno in Barbagia. The tour from September 5th to December 13th, 2026, takes visitors and residents on a discovery of the villages of Sardinia's hinterland, through the famous Cortes Apertas.
The courtyards of traditional houses that open to the public. The month of October offers a particularly rich calendar. In particular:
- October 3-4: Lula, Meana Sardo, Orotelli, Sorgono
- October 10-11: Gavoi, Lollove, Onanì, Tonara
- October 17-18: Belvì, Orgosolo
- October 24-25: Aritzo, Olzai, Ottana
- October 31st - November 1st : Desulo
Inside the courtyards, there are demonstrations of ancient crafts such as woodworking, ironwork, ceramics, textiles and traditional jewellery.
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