Bologna Events and Festivals 2014 / 2015

(Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy)

Leading magazines for numerous Bologna festivals and events are readily available and there are popular Bolognese event guides published every week - Il Resto del Carlino. Full of up-to-date listings of events and festivals throughout Italy, with a focus on Bologna, they are aimed specifically at tourists and visitors to Bologna and the surrounding region. These magazines provide you with a huge choice of things to see and do in Bologna, Italy.

National Public Holidays

• 1st January - New Year's Day
• 6th January - Epiphany
• Early April - Easter Monday
• 25th April - Liberation Day and St. Mark's Feast Day
• 1st May - Labour Day
• 29th June - Local Feast Day
• 15th August - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• 1st November - All Saints Day
• 8th December - Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• 24th December - Christmas Eve
• 25th December - Christmas Day
• 26th December - Boxing Day / St. Stephen's Day

The following is a list of events and festivals in the Bologna and Emilia-Romagna region:

January

• Modena - January 31st, festival and Corrida di San Geminiano

February

• Bellaria-Igea Mariona - February 9th to 14th, festival di Santo Apollonia
• Cento - historical carnival with many floats
• Imola - Sfilata dei Fantaveicoli, carnival with interesting and unusual floats
• San Giovanni in Persiceto - Bologna carnival with parade of satirical floats
• Borgo Tossignano - Mardi Gras carnival and festivities

March

• Forlimpopoli - Segavecchia, the burning of the effigy of 'Old Woman Winter' during mid-lent
• Casalfiumanese - 2nd or 3rd Sunday in March, Bologna Ravioli Festival
• Cavriago - 25th to 27th March, Festival del Bue Grasso, a two hundred-year-old cattle fair with many demonstrations of old crafts and also food stands
• Rocca San Casciano, Forli - bonfire festival during the last weekend of the month

April

• Sarsina - Pagnotta di Pasqua (Palm Sunday), dedicated to the traditional Easter cake
• Vignola - Vulandra, kite and kitemakers' festival held during the 3rd or 4th weekend in April
• Imola - Formula 1 Grand Prix of San Marino, held in late April to early May

May

• Ferrara - there are many events during May in the lead-up to the Palio di San Giorgio
• Quattro Castella - Investiture of Matilda of Canossa, recreated in period costume on the second Sunday of May
• Borghi, Forli - Bustreng Festival, traditional cake and palio held on the second Sunday in May
• Predappio - Sangiovese wine festival held on the 2nd Sunday in May
• Ceriva - 'Marriage to the Sea' ceremony on Ascension day
• Modena - Balsamica, vinegar festival with many exhibitions, special menus in restaurants and cookery classes, held from late May to early June

June

• Busseto - Verdi voice competitions
• Modena - Opera festival with many duets, historical tournaments and many spectacles
• Marinara, Ravenna - international rally of vintage boats
• Castel del Rio - Renaissance Festival held during the last weekend of June

July

• Ravenna - popular jazz festival
• Pomposa - music at the Pomposa abbey tthroughout July and August
• Cervia - mid-July, VIP master tennis competitions
• Gatteo Mare - Festa della Micizia, cat festival

August

• Casina (Reggio Emilia) - festival of Parmesan cheese
• Casttel San Pietro Terme - honey fair with many trade stands
• Cervia - mid-August, fireworks and fair
• Lido della Nazioni - mid-August, lake festival with fireworks

September

• Ravenna - Settembre Dantesco, readings and events dedicated to Dante, culminating on the 10th of September, the anniversary of his death
• Langhirano, Parma ham festival, held during the first week of September
• San Marino - crossbow competitions
• Gaggio Montano, Bologna - sausage festival held on the first Sunday in September
• San Pietro in Vincoli - late September, Festa dell'Uva, wine festival with a parade

October

• Goro - Ottobre d'Oro, cultural events and films all month
• Imola - short film festival
• Fragno (Pama) - truffle festival
• Portico di Romagna - Frutti del Sottobosco, autumn food feast / festival held on the second Sunday in October
• San Mauro Pascoli - Festa di San Crispino, patron saint of cobblers
• Porto Corsini - Halloween and tree festival

November

• Fanano - chestnut festival held on the first Sunday of November
• Imola - Sangiovese wine week, second week in November
• Modena - large antiques fair, second week in November

December

• Brisighella - olive oil festival, held on the first Sunday in December
• Forli and Savignano - Santa Lucia
• Sestola - live Christmas crib with traditional bagpipes and old crafts
• Ravenna - big presepi displays at Christmas
• New Year's Eve - December 31st, masses are celebrated in churches and traditionally, broken crockery is tossed from balconies. There are also many parties and general celebrations

Entertainment and Nightlife in Bologna

The University city of Bologna has a thriving nightlife and people here often eat late, around 22:00, and there are plenty of cafés and bars that stay open until 03:00. There are usually plenty of concerts, films and performances in clubs, advertised on posters around the city. Bologna is one of the great culture centres in Italy and many theatrical performances and operas are held at the Teatro Duse in Via Cartoleria and the drama season runs from November to may.