October and the chestnuts — the season of festivals.
October is the tastiest month in the Castelli Romani. Within a few weeks three top-tier appointments come together — the Grape Festival of Marino, the Uva Italia and Pincinelle Festival of Colonna, the Chestnut Festival of Rocca di Papa — flanked by numerous smaller initiatives. Here is the reasoned calendar.
Marino: a centenary for the grape
The Grape Festival of Marino effectively opens the season. The 2026 edition marks the centenary of the event, born in 1925 from an idea of the poet Leone Ciprelli to commemorate the Christian victory at the Battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571, in which Marcantonio Colonna led part of the Holy League's fleet ([Castelli Notizie](https://www.castellinotizie.it/2026/08/22/settembre-e-ottobre-ai-castelli-romani-e-trionfo-di-sagre-porcini-porchetta-pane-uva-vino-e-castagne/)).
The official website confirms two weekends: 26 and 27 September and 3, 4 and 5 October 2026 ([Sagra dell'Uva Marino — official site](https://www.sagradelluvamarino.it/)). The peak moment is Sunday afternoon: around 17:30, the Fontana dei Quattro Mori in Piazza Matteotti stops flowing water and starts spouting white DOC wine from the Castelli. This is the famous miracle of the fountains, preceded by a historical procession in Renaissance costume ([Castelli Romani Online](https://castelliromanionline.it/sagra-delluva-di-marino-2026-date-e-programma/)). Free admission. Marino is reachable by regional train from Rome Termini in about forty minutes.
Colonna: Italia grapes and pincinelle
In the small town of Colonna, from 10 to 13 October 2026, the 64th edition of the Uva Italia and Pincinelle Festival takes place ([Castelli Notizie](https://www.castellinotizie.it/2026/08/22/settembre-e-ottobre-ai-castelli-romani-e-trionfo-di-sagre-porcini-porchetta-pane-uva-vino-e-castagne/)). The Uva Italia is the local white table grape; pincinelle are hand-made fresh pasta shaped like a spindle, produced with leftover stale bread. This is a less touristy festival than Marino, with a family atmosphere and modest prices.
Rocca di Papa: the chestnuts, that specific weekend
The 46th edition of the Chestnut Festival of Rocca di Papa falls, by tradition, on the third weekend of October: Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October 2026 ([Castelli Notizie](https://www.castellinotizie.it/2026/08/22/settembre-e-ottobre-ai-castelli-romani-e-trionfo-di-sagre-porcini-porchetta-pane-uva-vino-e-castagne/)). The festival celebrates the Rocchicianella, the local variety of sweet, small chestnut cultivated on over two thousand hectares of chestnut groves surrounding the town ([Visit Castelli Romani — Rocca di Papa](https://www.visitcastelliromani.it/informazioni/rocca-di-papa/events/)).
The old-town streets host food and wine stands with roasted chestnuts, craft markets, live concerts and a historical procession in costume with flag-wavers. Sunday closes with a large fireworks display from the Medieval Fortress ([Metropolitan City of Rome](https://www.cittametropolitanaroma.it/events/event/rocca-di-papa-sagra-delle-castagne-gusto-tradizione-e-spettacolo/)). Free admission, from 10:00 until late evening. Rocca di Papa is twelve kilometres from Castel Gandolfo: twenty minutes by car through the woods of the Latium Volcano.
“The Rocchicianella, small in size and sweet in flavour, produced across more than 2000 hectares of chestnut groves, represents one of the town's greatest pride.”Visit Castelli Romani — Rocca di Papa profile
Other festivals of October
The October calendar in the Castelli and neighbouring towns extends with several smaller but high-quality events. Frascati hosts the Fiera dei Sapori d'Italia at Villa Torlonia, running from 17 September to 4 October: a proper food and wine fair, not a village festival ([Turistipercaso](https://turistipercaso.it/destinazioni/porchetta-vino-e-castagne-le-5-sagre-dell-autunno-2026-da-vivere-ai-castelli-romani.html)). In Cave, from 18 to 26 October, the historic Sagra della Castagna e dei Prodotti Tipici takes place. In Segni, from 23 to 26 October, the town celebrates the marrone Segnino, a noble and prized variety: the traditional fraschette in the old town offer set menus from fifteen euros upwards ([Sagr.it — Il marrone Segnino](https://sagr.it/lazio/roma-e-dintorni/eventi/il-marrone-segnino)).
For those staying in Castel Gandolfo, all these festivals are twenty to forty minutes by car, and some are directly reachable by regional train via Albano Laziale. The famous Strawberry Festival of Nemi, to be clear, is instead a springtime event: the next edition falls on Sunday 7 June 2026 and does not take place in October ([Idealista — Sagra Fragole Nemi 2026](https://www.idealista.it/news/vacanze/mete-turistiche/2026/05/22/377175-sagra-delle-fragole-di-nemi-2026-data-programma-e-come-arrivare)).
Booking accommodation well in advance is strongly recommended, particularly for the weekends of 3-5 October and 17-19 October: they are the most intense weekends of the year on the Alban Hills, with tens of thousands of visitors converging on the villages.