EVENTS IN TUSCANY, OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER INTO OCTOBER - VENDEMMIA

Throughout Tuscany it is time for harvesting the grapes. These last few weeks are crucial - too much rain and a years work can rot on the vine, and the balance is a tricky one - if the weather is good then it is tempting to wait until well into October to get the extra sun. Most picking is still done by hand, with only a few of the large estates in Chianti using machines to pick. It is very much all hands to the deck once the decision has been made and it is the tradition to have a communal feast once the grapes are in.
Click here for an introduction to the wines of Tuscany.

MONTHLY MARKETS/FAIRS

LUCCA has a large antiques market (centred around Piazza San Giusto and Piazza Antelminelli) on the third Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month. There is also a craft fair, again in and around Piazza San Giusto, on the last Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month.

AREZZO has an enormous antiques market on the first Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month, centred around Piazza Grande and Piazza Vasari.

FLORENCE has its antique market on the last Sunday of every month in Piazza dei Ciompi.

LUCCA COMICS

Every year, last weekend in October sees Lucca host an incredibly popular International Comics Fair. Artists, collectors and exhibitors from all over the world. Comics, games, simulations and very full hotels.

CHESTNUT TIME

Very large areas of Tuscany, particularly in the North, are still covered in Chestnut - Castagna - forests, and it is during October that you'll first see the locals out in the woods to collect them. The timber is still used extensively in building, but the nut itself is no longer the staple that it once was. You'll see special pans for roasting the chestnut for sale everywhere (basically a frying pan full of holes), but if you don't have access to an open fire you can find hot-chestnut sellers in most towns leading up to Christmas.

MUSHROOM TIME

If you see people in the woods and they're not looking furtive then they're collecting chestnuts - if they are looking furtive then they're after funghi, preferably porcini. If you know a good spot for them then you're a lucky man, and you won't be telling anyone about it until you are on your deathbed.
There are all sorts of mushrooms to collect, but the wonderfully rich and pungent porcini are the prize, and it is these that you'll see for sale by the side of the road, particularly in the Garfagnana region of northern Tuscany.