Sagra delle castagne di Marradi 2019

Breathe the warm fall atmosphere among typical dishes and chestnut-based delicacies

From 06 October 2019 to 27 October 2019

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Marradi (Florence), a delightful little town in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, will host the most anticipated chestnut festival in Tuscany every Sunday between October 6th and 27th 2019. What better way to celebrate the arrival of fall than by tasting the fruit that best represents this season! At the Marradi Chestnut Festival, which in 2019 reaches its 56th edition, you can taste the delicious Mugello IGP chestnuts declined in many tasty preparations that are typical of the local culinary tradition. The various stands will also offer many delicious dishes, products of the undergrowth and excellent wine with which to water everything. What’s more, if you wish you can catch the steam train to Marradi! Were you looking for ideas for your autumn in Tuscany? The Marradi Chestnut Festival 2019 is truly a perfect opportunity to enjoy the best of colors, flavors and warm autumn atmospheres. And all this just a little over an hour from Florence!

MARRADI: THE VILLAGE OF CHESTNUT AND DINO CAMPANA 

Where actually is Marradi? It is located about 65 km from Florence in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Because of its position, despite being located in the province of Florence, it also has a strong link with the Emilia Romagna region. This is not its only peculiarity. Walking through its streets you will find that it is different from the typical mountain centers of the Apennines. Instead of the narrow streets and low stone houses, here you will find avenues and palaces. This is because the families who moved here from Florence wanted to keep the same urban air in the mountains. So in Marradi in Italy you will find buildings like Palazzo Torriani, Palazzo Fabbroni and the Animosi theater. The heart of the village consists of Piazza le Scalelle, dominated by the Palazzo Comunale and Chiesa del Suffragio.

Marradi is also the birthplace of the famous Italian poet Dino Campana, the poet author of the 'Canti Orfici' and this is why there is a cultural center dedicated to him as well as the Campaniani Study Center. If you want to walk in the woods, a great activity to admire the autumn colors and get into the right spirit for the Tuscan chestnut festival, we have a couple of routes to suggest. The easiest one will lead you to the Rocca di Castoglincino, a 6th-century fortification from which you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Lamone valley. A more challenging route will lead you to the Hermitage of Gamogna, a Dominican monastic complex dating back to the 1500s.

FIERA DELLA CASTAGNA DI MARRADI 2019: WHAT TO TASTE

Fall is the season of delicious fruits such as mushrooms, truffles, wine, new olive oil and of course chestnuts. On the occasion of the festival you can taste the famous Marradi chestnuts which will be the undisputed protagonists of this highly-attended and very popular Tuscan chestnut festival. In the stands set up along the streets of the village you will find many delicacies prepared with delicious fall fruits. At the Chestnut festival 2019 you can taste the 'burnt' or the crispy roasted chestnuts, the marron glacé and also the delicious chestnut jam to take home to warm up your winter breakfasts. And like at the best chestnut festivals there will be desserts such as the classic castagnaccio, typical of the popular tradition and made only of chestnut flour, olive oil, rosemary and walnuts. Absolutely delicious to taste with a bit of fresh ricotta. Try also the marroni cake, another typical delicacy of the Festival of Chestnuts of Marradi. You will then be surprised to discover that chestnuts will also be the main ingredient of a first course that brings together all the flavor of the Tuscan mountains and of fall. These are the Tortelli di Marroni, ravioli stuffed with chestnuts to serve with butter, Parmesan and breadcrumbs or with a sumptuous meat sauce. You can enjoy this dish and many others, such as rotisserie meat, polenta and mushrooms at 'Il Riccio', the self-service of the festival which opens in the late morning.

Along the streets of the village on the occasion of the Marradi Fiera della Castagna there will also be a market where you can find many local products, handcraft products and food fresh from the woods.

After eating, drinking and shopping you can enjoy the festive atmosphere of the afternoon with fun attractions for the little ones, music shows, variety and magic tricks. In short, in Marradi for the Chestnut Festival 2019 you can take part in one of the richest events of autumn in Tuscany.

STEAM TRAINS FOR MARRADI

As we have already anticipated Marradi is located at about 65 km from Florence, so it can be reached rather comfortably by car, even if the road is full quite bendy. A really nice alternative is to reach it via some of the most characteristic Italian steam locomotives in Tuscany: a nice vintage experience. There are two alternatives you can choose between: the one that sets off from Pistoia and arrives at the Marradi Chestnut Festival Italy passing through Florence. This route opens on October 20th but you will have to book in advance, as indicated on the Italian Railway website. The other alternative is to take a look at the same website at the Faenza Firenze train timetable, available on 28th of October. Here too you will have to book in advance as indicated on the website. In both cases you can get off at the Marradi station and find yourself already conveniently at the festival location. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

So, are you ready to take part in the Marradi 2019 chestnut festival? Really a good idea for an autumn weekend in Tuscany. On Sundays you can immerse yourself in the festive autumnal atmosphere, while on other days you could seize the chance to visit the Tuscan capital thanks to one of our Tours in Florence. Temperatures are still mild enough to go for a pleasant walk through the beauties of the ‘cradle of the Renaissance’.