In Italy, on Lake Garda, we have only a few public-holidays, because the Republic of Italy has postponed most of them to Sundays. Therefore an Italian family cannot make so often a desirable bank holiday-weekend. Here a list of the remained dates:
1st. of January – Capodanno
6th. of January – Epifania
Easter (Sunday and Monday)
25th. of April – Liberazione
1st. of May – Festa del Lavoro
15th. of August – Ferragosto
1st. of November – Ognissanti
8th. of December – Immacolata Concezione
25th. of December – Natale
26th. of December – Santo Stefano During the main-season a lot of festivals, open-airs, shows and events take place in quite all towns of Lake Garda. Here our list:
1.0. January: at the last weekend of this month we have at Torri del Benaco the festival of olive-trees and olive- oil products.
2.0. Carnival: in diverse towns of Lake Garda and surroundings there are carnival processions, or on Sunday or on Tuesday.
3.0. Easter: At Limone is a Good Friday – Procession. In Castelletto we have several religious celebrations.
4.0. May: In Bardolino they celebrate “Festa del vino chiaretto”. At Torri del Benaco there is the festivity “San Filippo Neri” on 26.05. This popular manifestation finishes at night, on the lake you can see hundreds of little candle-lights, swimming in the water. An antique tradition let them incinerate an old fisher boat, and so asking Lake Garda for protection of the fishermen.
5.0. June: In Limone, on Piazza Garibaldi, on one weekend they celebrate “Festa Popolare del Lago” and you can have fish and wine.
6.0. July and August: Now we have in all towns manifestations, shows, open-airs, music-shows and more. There is the famous “Festival del Garda” a music and singer competition, which is celebrated during diverse evenings in towns of Garda and surroundings. At Manerba a lot of artists come together, for the international Summer Music Festival.. In Malcesine, nearby the castle, we have many summer concerts and lyric open-airs. In Verona, there is ARENA and Teatro Romano with their famous operas and lyrics. At Torbole we can find live-jazz, in Salò “Carnevale del Sole”. In Malcesine they onorate “Santo Caro e Santo Benigno” with torch- processions at the last weekend of July. Since 20 years Riva celebrates “Musica Riva” Too, there is a famous popular festival “La Notte di Fiaba”. Night sailing-regattas you can admire in Garda and Bardolino.
7.0. September: In Bogliaco there is the famous sailing-regatta “Centomiglia”. Then we have the popular event at Cisano “Sagra dei Osei”, a fair of birds. In Torri del Benaco they celebrate “Carnevale Settembrino”.
8.0. October: In Bardolino there is the famous manifestation and popular festival “Festa dell’Uva”.
9.0 November: In Bardolino we have another event “Festa del Vino Novello”. In San Zeno di Montagna there is “Mostra Mercato del Marone”, you can find and taste products of chestnuts. At Castelleto they celebrate “Santa Caterina”.
10.0. December: In Arco, Garda and at Gardaland just since a few years you can find Christmas-markets.
