Autumn arrives, the season of taste

What to do and where to go in Liguria to best experience autumn, the season of taste: festivals, village festivals and gastronomic events

In autumn, when nature starts to fall asleep, it is your senses that awaken, and one in particular: taste. The hinterland is then dotted with festivals and village feasts, events with good local cuisine where everyone eats and drinks together, the table filled with specialities and new wine. Is this why the beaches empty out and the villages fill up in Liguria in autumn?

Here is where to go to enjoy the autumn in Liguria: folk festivals, town celebrations, typical food.

Grape and Wine Festival Vezzano Ligure

12 to 14 September
For more than 50 years, this has been a historic event featuring local wine producers, street performers, local crafts, typical food and wine, parades of the districts, a photo exhibition, music and various types of entertainment. Among the most characteristic moments are the dialectal challenge of the districts, the grape harvester competition and the parade of the districts in traditional costumes, all according to the ancient traditions of the village of Vezzano Ligure, with splendid views overlooking the valleys of the Magra and Vara rivers and immersed in the countryside.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1410878133474333/

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Snail Festival in Molini di Triora

Sunday 14 September in Molini di Triora
A historic festival, now in its 64th edition: the Snail Festival in Molini di Triora. Snails are a tradition in Molini di Triora and the Argentina valley. They are gathered by families during rainy days and prepared according to traditional recipes…
Schedule:
10 a.m. – Opening of the craft markets – Inflatables and games for children – Street food and food stands
11:00 a.m. – Food competition “Golden Snail 2025”
11:30 a.m. – Opening of the food stands with the festival dish: snails and other specialities
3:30 p.m. – Snail race for children
Info: https://www.facebook.com/ass.proloco.montegrossopianlatte

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Masone, the mushroom capital

From 12 to 14 and from 19 to 21 September
For two weekends in a row, Masone is the capital of taste with the Mushroom Festival from 12 to 14 and from 19 to 21 September. For the occasion, the village becomes an open-air restaurant: the menu includes traditional local dishes based on delicious porcini mushrooms, including the famous breaded and fried mushrooms. Evenings will be accompanied by musical events: Friday there is live music for young people and Saturday there is Latin and ballroom dancing. In addition, Viale Vittorio Veneto will host the customary End of Summer Fair on Sunday.

https://www.facebook.com/comunedimasone

Fungo Masone

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Badalucco, Stockfish Festival

20 and 21 September
The Badalucco Stockfish Festival is the celebration of a community and a simple but delicious recipe such as ‘u stoccafissu à baücôgna‘. From a historical and cultural point of view, the inhabitants of Badalucco owe much to stockfish. In fact, it is thanks to this fish that they managed to resist the siege of the Saracens, a fact of which there is also a trace in the State Archives of Nice, dating between 1580 and 1600. At the time, due to its ease of transport, preservation and affordable cost, this food quickly became part of the local culinary tradition.

https://www.facebook.com/prolucco/

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XXXX [BC1] National Festival of the Golden Mushroom of Bardineto

20 and 21 September
The National Festival of the Golden Mushroom of Bardineto: a feast for the palate, 20 and 21 September.
The two-day event will be very intense and full of events, exhibitions, sports, music and dancing, culminating in the food stands where his majesty the porcino mushroom will dominate. During the festival, prizes are awarded to the king and queen of mushrooms, i.e. the best specimens of porcini mushrooms collected during the event within the Consorzio altopiano bardinetese.
https://lamialiguria.it/en/events/national-festival-of-the-golden-mushroom-of-bardineto/

https://lamialiguria.it/eventi/festa-nazionale-del-fungo-doro-bardineto/

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Sagra dei Barbagiuai a Camporosso

Sunday 21 September
An event that food-lovers love. Starting at 2.30 p.m., barbagiuai, a traditional Ligurian dish, will be cooked and distributed. They are a type of fried ravioli filled with vegetables, usually artichokes, courgettes and parsley. The name ‘barbagiuai’ seems to derive from the Ligurian dialect term ‘barba e giuggiole,’ meaning ‘beard and courgettes,’ referring to the main ingredients of the filling. The event takes place in the traditional festival area in Bigauda

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Chestnut Trofie Festival in Busalla

4-5 ottobre a Busalla
A real Autumn Festival with its colours and flavours in Busalla: chestnut trophies are a typical food of the past, when the community depended on the forest. They will be prepared with pesto or stracchino cheese for lunch and dinner.
Info Pro Loco Busalla https://www.facebook.com/prolocobusalla/

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Rovegno Potato Festival

4 – 5 october

The Rovegno Potato Festival is historically linked to the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, an event that takes place every year in the municipality of Rovegno on the first Sunday in October. The festival mainly takes place on Sundays where the usual distribution of fries and ‘brichetto‘, wine and other potato specialities takes place, with other entertainment and four themed competitions/exhibitions. There will be stands and stalls with gastronomic products and handicrafts and musical entertainment. The impression launch of the lanterns takes place in the late afternoon.
Hours: Saturday at 21:00, Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00
For information: prorovegno@outlook.it

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Montegrosso Pian Latte chestnut festival

Sunday 12 October
A long-standing tradition: on the second Sunday in October, Sunday 12 October , the Montegrosso Pian Latte Chestnut Festival returns: since 1970, the Pro Loco of Montegrosso Pian Latte in the Arroscia valley has organised three days dedicated to this forest fruit. Friday is usually dedicated to schools and Saturday to cultural aspects, and Sunday is the highlight of the festival with tastings of recipes, from roasted chestnuts to castagnacci and other sweets.
Info https://www.facebook.com/ass.proloco.montegrossopianlatte

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Salto dell’Acciuga

11 to 13 October, Laigueglia
Salto dell’acciuga in Laigueglia awaits you for the 14th edition of an anchovy festival combining tradition, taste and local culture. In the colourful village of Laigueglia, the sea meets the hinterland with the Salto dell’acciuga, an anchovy festival suspended between flavours, tales and traditions of yesterday and today
https://lamialiguria.it/eventi/salto-acciuga-laigueglia/

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Crocefieschi Chestnut Festival

Sunday 12 October, Crocefieschi
A great autumn festival that has been returning to Crocefieschi for 46 years: the Chestnut Festival returns with an extensive menu, markets and live music. The ancient village in the Upper Scrivia Valley in the Antola Regional Natural Park on the ancient ‘Salt Road’ is a perfect destination for autumn flavours and colours.
The chestnut festival offers not only the typical ‘Rustie’, the Ligurian roast chestnuts: also try the delicious salamini, frisceu, mostardella and many other delicacies organised by the Pro Loco Crocefieschi.

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Pumpkin in the Piazza in Cengio

18 – 19 October
Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October 2025, the hamlet of Rocchetta di Cengio will host the 21st edition of Pumpkin in the Piazza. Rocchetta di Cengio is ready for a new edition of Pumpkin in the Piazza, a traditional event celebrating one of the most versatile vegetables in Italian cuisine and the other excellent products of the Bormida Valley. The precious cucurbit, recognised by a real identity card that testifies to its origin and peculiarities, was also crowned ‘gastronomic excellence of the territory’ by the Small Friendly Municipality Award, given to the Pumpkin Hamlet of Rocchetta di Cengio.

https://lamialiguria.it/eventi/zucca-in-piazza-a-rocchetta-di-cengio/

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Festival of Our Lady of Grace – Madonna dei Gotti

12 and 13 October in Camogli
Camogli is home to the votive shrine of the Madonna of Goog Voyage (or ‘Madonna of Graces’), the patron saint of fishermen and sailors who is also known as the ‘Madonna dei Gotti’, from the ancient taverns that were located in the harbour area. After the liturgical moment with the blessing of the votive shrine, the event will take place in the narrow carrugio of Camogli from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon with music, roast chestnuts and the Palio dei Gotti.
https://www.welcomecamogli.it/it/eventi/4454/festa-di-ns-delle-grazie-madonna-dei-gotti

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Pumpkin Festival in Zuccarello

Sunday 26 October
On the second Sunday in October, Zuccarello becomes the city of pumpkins: the festival invades the village with typical local products, a market with agri-food products and handicrafts, and the participation of the hotel and agricultural institute. Every year, restaurants and catering establishments create menus centred on the theme of the event with De.Co. registered Zuccarello pumpkins.
Info https://www.facebook.com/zuccarelloproloco

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Festa delle Babacce (Festival of Laughing Pumpkins)

Saturday 25 October, Rezzo (IM)
This is an ancient festival that is often confused with Halloween: the pumpkins are carved in Rezzo and scattered throughout the village, but without wanting to scare or frighten, but with the sole purpose of entertaining young and old alike. Along the way, visitors can enjoy typical Ligurian and local dishes, with many shows that entertain the public. At the end of the tour you can vote for the most beautiful pumpkin of the route and stay to dance in the gardens of ‘La Pagoda’. The origins of this festival are a reminder of the autumn events that were already took place in the area in medieval times, when the inhabitants carved turnips (instead of pumpkins) to remember the souls of loved ones. The typical and much appreciated ‘pumpkin pie’ has become a De.Co. recipe. Local operators participate in the food areas or organise exhibition stands and supply 0 km products. Activities include the typical recipe for ‘Pumpkin Pie’
Info https://www.facebook.com/prolocorezzo/?locale=it_IT

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The Pumpkin Exhibition in Murta

8 and 9, 15 and 16 November

For 38 years, pumpkins have also had their own capital: Murta, hillside hamlet of Genoa, in Val Polcevera. As per tradition, on the second and third weekends of November (8 and 9, 15 and 16 November), the scenic and delicious Murta pumpkin exhibition returns: two weekends with exhibition stands, tasty themed delicacies, pumpkin jams, pasta with pumpkin, and pumpkin sweets. Prizes will be awarded for the biggest and longest pumpkin, the strangest pumpkin, and the most beautiful pumpkin.

https://lamialiguria.it/eventi/la-mostra-della-zucca/