Autumnia 2026: Dates, Program, and How to Get There

Figline Valdarno – Once a year, donkeys stand on straw here while farmers sell their cheese a few streets away. That is Autumnia, the autumn fair for agriculture, food and the environment. In 2026 it runs from Friday, 6 November, to Sunday, 8 November, in Figline’s old town. Admission is free, and the stands open at 15 on Friday.

The organizer is the municipality of Figline e Incisa Valdarno, formed in 2014 by merging Figline and Incisa in the upper Arno Valley between Florence and Arezzo. The 27th edition in 2026 has the motto ‘Tradizione locale, sguardo europeo’, or local tradition with a European outlook. The fair is growing: in 2025 the municipality counted 231 stands and pitches, more than ever before, and a fifth more visitors than the previous year. Find other regional festivals in our overview of Events in Tuscany.

When is Autumnia 2026?

Autumnia takes place in 2026 from Friday, 6 November, to Sunday, 8 November. Food and wine stands around Piazza Marsilio Ficino, Figline’s main square, open on Friday from 15 to 22, Saturday from 10 to 22 and Sunday from 10 to 20. The animal show in Giardini della Misericordia, a green space on Corso Vittorio Veneto, takes place only on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 until sunset.

On Thursday evening, 5 November, the free photo exhibition ‘Il tempo presente’ about the municipality opens at 18 in Palazzo Pretorio, the former administrative building on Piazza San Francesco. The municipality updates the hourly programme of cooking shows, talks and guided tours on its fair website, autumnia.it.

What can you expect at Autumnia in Figline?

The fair spreads throughout the old town, with a theme for each square. In Giardini della Misericordia is the Animal Farm, a hands-on farm. Students from the agricultural department of Istituto Giorgio Vasari, Figline’s secondary school, introduce the animals. Recently there were sheep, goats, pigs, donkeys, horses, ducks, pigeons and rabbits, as well as falconry, working sheepdogs and workshops where children could weave baskets or make scarecrows from leaves.

On Piazza IV Novembre, the fair’s forest and river area, the Carabinieri forest police, hunters, anglers and mushroom advisers from health authority USL Toscana Centro set up a small forest with aquariums and local fungi. In the Misericordia car park, craftspeople from Casa della Civiltà Contadina, a centre for farming history in nearby Gaville, demonstrate traditional work. Piazza Bonechi, the square for associations and schools, hosts performances and games. On the firefighters’ ‘Pompieropoli’ course, children can traditionally spend a day as firefighters.

What food is served at Autumnia?

Food and wine stands surround Piazza Marsilio Ficino. At the Mercato contadino, Figline’s farmers’ market, around 20 small local producers sell what they grow or make: vegetables, cheese, wine and olive oil from the valley between the Pratomagno ridge to the east and the Chianti hills to the west. Hams and sausages hang from the roofs of some stands.

At recent cooking demonstrations, students from Istituto Vasari’s hospitality school cooked alongside local chefs and businesses. In 2025, Fabrizio Giusti, chef of Terrae Casagrande restaurant in Figline, prepared a Peposo al Chianti: beef slowly braised with black pepper and Chianti, a dish dating from the Renaissance, served by him with pears. Cooking classes required registration. To taste the dishes, visitors could simply queue at the stands.

Figline between the stands: the square, collegiate church and Teatro Garibaldi

Piazza Marsilio Ficino is named after the Renaissance philosopher born in Figline in 1433. The Florentines laid it out as a market square for the whole area in 1259, and it still hosts a weekly market every Tuesday. On the north side stands the former Ospedale Serristori, a hospital founded in 1399 that long welcomed pilgrims too. Along one side rises the Collegiata di Santa Maria, the collegiate church whose foundation stone was laid in 1257.

Guided tours of Teatro Garibaldi, the municipal theatre on Piazza Serristori, were recently part of the programme and required registration. Our Tuscany Travel Guide.

How do you get to Figline Valdarno?

By train is easiest: the regional train takes around 27 minutes from Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Florence’s main station, to Figline Valdarno, or about 35 minutes from Arezzo. From the station, walk roughly 500 metres to the old town.

By car, take the A1 motorway. From the north, exit at Incisa and drive about 8 kilometres south on regional road SR 69; from the south, exit at Valdarno and drive about 10 kilometres north. During recent fairs, shuttle buses ran into the centre from places including Via Comunità Europea, Piazza Don Minzoni and the station in Incisa, the neighbouring town to the north.

Good to know: the weekend gets crowded. In 2025, tens of thousands filled the streets, and nearby parking quickly ran out. The municipality posts a day-by-day updated traffic and parking plan on autumnia.it. The train is more relaxed: you arrive in the middle of town and need no parking space.

Is Autumnia worth a day trip?

If you are in Florence or Chianti in November, yes. Autumnia is a small town’s autumn fair, created by farmers, associations and school classes, which makes it enjoyable. Visit on Saturday or Sunday to see both the stands and the animal show on the same day. The animal show is not yet open on Friday.

You can use the morning for the Sights in Florence and take a regional train to Figline in the afternoon. Approaching from the south, combine your visit with Arezzo. More seasonal ideas are available under Italy in the Fall. Next step: look up a train for Saturday, 7 November, and aim to arrive in Figline by lunchtime.

Dates, times, and the program are subject to change. Please check the details on the organizer's official website before your visit. Italien.news is not the organizer of this event. This post contains affiliate links: If you book through them, we receive a small commission, but the price remains the same for you.