October-November: chestnuts take over Italy. Street vendors roast them (€3-4/bag). Mountain villages hold castagnate with chestnut polenta, castagnaccio cake, chestnut beer. Chestnut culture = MOUNTAIN culture — 600-1000m altitude, where chestnuts were "the bread of the poor" for centuries. Autumn foliage → · All sagre →
1. Sagra Castagne Marradi (Tuscany, 4 Sundays Oct): THE most famous — 100K+ visitors. Train from Florence 1.5h. 2. Sagra Castagna Soriano nel Cimino (Lazio, Oct): 50K+ visitors, medieval pageantry. 1h from Rome. 3. Festa Castagna Cutigliano (Pistoia, Oct): Mountain village, castagnaccio, mondine. 4. Festa Marrone Combai (Veneto, Oct): 4 weekends near Prosecco hills. 5. Castagna in Festa Arcidosso (Monte Amiata, Oct-Nov): Volcanic mountain + chestnut forests.
6-10: Sagra Castagna Marzabotto (Emilia, combine WWII memorial). Sagra Vallerano (Lazio). Festa Montella (Campania — IGP chestnuts). Castagnata Roncegno (Trentino). Sagra Campoli Appennino (Ciociaria). What to eat: Caldarroste (roasted). Castagnaccio (flat cake, rosemary+pine nuts). Necci (crepes with ricotta). Mondine (boiled). Birra alla castagna.