A Festival for Every Flavour in Italia

October offers a bounty of food festivals throughout la bella Italia. Whether your palate prefers savoury or sweet, there’s something for every taste and proclivity.

Here are some of Bon Vivant’s Preferred Picks:

Alba International White Truffle Fair
This yearly ode to the “superior” white truffle takes place this year from October 9 to November 14th in the historic centre (or “centro storico”) of Alba, Italy. Truffle Markets run every Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 8pm to ensure you get your fair share of the fragrant tuber. Some of the world’s most celebrated chefs and their legion of followers descend upon Alba to fete the Tuber Magnatum Pico (aka white truffles). At £1600 per kilo (or $2500 USD per pound), these are considered the very best in the world and are sought after with much gusto. You may recall that in 2005, an anonymous truffle aficionado paid $112, 000.00 USD for a 2.5 pound white truffle. This yearly event also features an invitation only truffle auction, a fair and a gastro-tourist’s excuse to explore Piedmontese cuisine. White truffles grow by the roots of hazelnut and oak trees. They are characterized by a distinct musky flavour known to flavour a Piedmontese butter sauce, risotto, upscale omlettes and just about anything other dish to which you want to lend an air of sophistication.

Boccaccesca Food and Wine Festival
From October 2-10, the picturesque Tuscan town of Certaldo will play host to this epicurean delight. From spiced meats, cheeses, local olive oils, freshly baked breads, preserves and other local specialties, hungry travelers and locals alike delight in this yearly festival.
Certaldo celebrates everything local with particular emphasis on culinary traditions over two weekends with food stalls, tastings, cooking classes, chef competitions and workshops set up in courtyards, gardens and along the town streets. The narrow, medieval thoroughfares are happily filled with the stands of craftsmen and women from every part of Tuscany.
The festival runs Friday and Saturday evening from 6 pm to 9 pm, and Sunday from 11 am to 9 pm. The town of Certaldo can be reached by train or bus on the Florence-Siena train line, and a short cable car ride takes visitors to the upper town of Boccaccesca, the medieval town of Giovanni Boccaccio. There’s a 5 Euro entrance Fee on Saturday and Sunday, but Fridays are free. An extra 3 Euro will buy you a complimentary glass of local vino.

Eurochocolate:
If you dream in chocolate, then Eurochocolate, being held this October 15 to 24 in Perugia, will be sure to please any sweet tooth! Perugia, as you may know, is home to the chocolate and hazelnut clusters devoured the world over and known as Bacio Perugina (bacio means kiss in Italian).

There’s no entrance fee to this Willy Wonka chocolate-lover’s delight which runs from 9am-8pm daily (except Saturday which goes until 11pm). Chocolate competitions, sculpture making, tastings (of course!), and Eurochocolate World which takes a look at the socio-economic issues of chocolate production around the globe are all on offer. Gluttons be warned- there’s a new take on Tiramisu called Tiramigiu (pull me up) that’s sure to tempt your taste buds. Held at the Sala del Cerp della Rocca Paolina in Perugia.