From Friday Monte San Savino turns into the City of Halloween and Anghiari opens the Centogusti dell’Appennino, on Saturday Sansepolcro and Poppi celebrate with trick-or-treating through the old town, while in Arezzo you browse the stalls in Piazza Grande and end the night at the Principe. On Sunday head up to Raggiolo for the chestnut festival, and Cortona on the Move reaches its last day. Here are the ten events we picked, with times and addresses kept up to date.
1 Monte San Savino, la Città di Halloween
30 October – 1 November, from 15:00 · Centro storico di Monte San Savino
For three days Monte San Savino becomes the City of Halloween, run by Arezzo Celtic Festival: historical camps, markets, food stands, trick-or-treating and face painting for the little ones, and the Scary Room at the Logge dei Mercanti. On Saturday at 21:00 the Great Rite of Samhain, on Sunday at 21:00 the Squid Gate prize game. Entry is free.
2 I Centogusti dell'Appennino
30 October – 1 November, from 15:00 · Centro storico di Anghiari
Anghiari’s market fair of local food and rural tourism is back: producers from all over Italy with cheeses, cured meats, truffles, honey, oil, wines and beers in the old town. Stalls open Friday from 15:00 to 19:00, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00; up on the walls the Pro Loco runs the Osteria dei Centogusti and a roast chestnut stand.
3 Alessandro Preziosi e il Quartetto Eos: Orfeo al Teatro Petrarca
Friday 30 October, at 20:00 · Teatro Petrarca, Arezzo
For the Arezzo Youth Music Festival of the Fondazione Guido d’Arezzo, Alessandro Preziosi performs Silvia Colasanti’s melologue Orfeo with the Quartetto Eos conducted by Enrico Pagano; Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 4 Op. 18 is also on the programme. Friday at 20:00, tickets at the theatre box office and online at discoverarezzo.ticka.it.
4 Fiera Antiquaria di Arezzo
31 October – 1 November · Piazza Grande e centro storico, Arezzo
The Fiera Antiquaria returns on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November between Piazza Grande and the streets of the old town, as it does on the first Sunday of every month and the Saturday before. Furniture, period objects, prints, postcards and photographs to leaf through at the stalls. Entry is free.
5 Borgo in Halloween a Sansepolcro
Saturday 31 October, all day · Centro storico di Sansepolcro
On Saturday the old town of Sansepolcro celebrates Halloween all day long: trick-or-treating through the streets, Baby Circus in Piazza Torre di Berta, roaming shows, shops open, themed aperitifs and dinners in the bars and restaurants. Free, organised by the town centre shopkeepers with the Comune.
6 Giornata del Trekking Urbano: Arezzo sulla via Romea con San Francesco
31 October – 1 November · Piazza San Francesco, statua di Vittorio Fossombroni, Arezzo
For the national Urban Trekking Day, on Saturday and Sunday a guided walk in the footsteps of St Francis: the Basilica with Piero della Francesca’s frescoes, the Pieve di Santa Maria, the Giardini del Prato and Villa degli Orti Redi. About 5 km in 4 hours, medium difficulty, meeting point in Piazza San Francesco. Free, booking required at discoverarezzo.com.
7 La maledizione del chiasso buio: Halloween nel borgo di Poppi
Saturday 31 October, at 20:00 · Centro storico di Poppi
A Halloween party for children and teenagers in the old town of Poppi, run by the Scuola-Insieme parents’ committee and the Pro Loco: from 20:00 trick-or-treating at the houses marked with a little ghost, a scary trail through the village, a pumpkin contest with prizes for everyone and a food stand. Entry is free.
8 Halloween Dinner Show al Principe
Saturday 31 October, at 21:00 · Il Principe, Arezzo
The Halloween dinner show in the Privé Royale of the Principe, with Fabien Pizar at the decks and the voice of Niko Mammato, from 21:00. After dinner the night carries on on the dance floor with the Guapaloca Horror Party. Dinner show 35 euros, bookings on 331 342 6690.
9 Festa di Castagnatura — Raggiolo
31 October – 1 November, from 16:00 · Borgo di Raggiolo, Ortignano Raggiolo
In the medieval village of Raggiolo, in the Casentino, Sunday and Monday celebrate the chestnut harvest: craft market from 10:00, lunch from 12:00, chestnut-flour sweets from 14:30, shows, re-enactments and stories around the fire. There is a free shuttle from Ortignano and entry is free.
10 Cortona on the Move
16 July – 1 November · Cortona
Last weekend for Cortona on the Move, the international festival of reportage photography that has been open since July: it closes on Sunday 1 November at 18:00. If you have not been yet, this is the last chance this year.