Anywhere Italy

Tuscany · San Gimignano · festa

Harvest Festival of San Gimignano

Ferie delle Messi

19 June 2026 – 21 June· verify before attending

Each June San Gimignano's four quartieri reset the town to its medieval calendar for a long weekend. Costumed processions weave between the towers; archers and falconers compete in the piazze; banquets in each quartiere serve dishes pulled from medieval recipe books. The closing is a Cavalcade of the Knights — a real timed joust on horseback.

NoteTickets for the joust sell out. Free street performances run all weekend.

San Gimignano

37 km from Florence · pop. 7,480

All events in San Gimignano

Source

More info from the official source ↗

Related

May 24·Massa Marittima· verify before attending

Crossbow Tournament (May)Balestro del Girifalco (maggio)

Held twice a year — fourth Sunday of May and second Sunday of August — Massa Marittima's three terzieri compete in medieval crossbow archery in front of the cathedral. Ten archers per terziere fixed-distance shots at a wooden falcon. Costume processions drum corps banner throwing fill the morning. The town has been hosting versions of this since the thirteenth century.

Jul · Aug·Anghiari· verify before attending

Checkered TableclothTovaglia a Quadri

For roughly two weeks each summer Anghiari's main square becomes a long communal table dressed in checkered cloth. A four-course Tuscan dinner is served between scenes of an original play written for that year — the script changes annually the format doesn't. Locals and visitors share benches; the food is regional the wine is local the play is in Italian but visual.

Jul · Aug·Barga· verify before attending

Opera Barga

Founded in 1967 Italy's oldest summer opera workshop runs young singers and conductors through full productions performed in Barga's eighteenth-century theatre and outdoor at the Duomo. The town fills with rehearsing voices for six weeks each summer; the closing concerts pull professional opera-goers from across Europe.

May·Lucignano· verify before attending

Maggiolata of LucignanoMaggiolata Lucignanese

Lucignano's circular medieval streets host a parade of flower-covered allegorical floats on consecutive Sundays in May. Each of the town's quartieri builds a float around a yearly theme; the vehicles inch through the spiraled streets while costumed troupes sing maggi — traditional spring songs. The whole thing closes with a vote and a procession of the winning float.

Jul · Aug·Pietrasanta· verify before attending

Versiliana FestivalLa Versiliana

Founded in 1980 in the pine forest where D'Annunzio used to walk La Versiliana programs eight weeks of theatre dance music and conversation through July and August. Italian writers and politicians arrive for the morning Caffè della Versiliana — public-square interviews under the umbrella pines. Evening shows at the open-air theatre pull crowds from the whole Versilia coast.

Event details may change. Verify directly with the official source before traveling. Last verified: 2026-05-10.