Food Festivals in Venice

On 11 November Venetian pasticcerie fill with the San Martino biscuit, a shortcrust knight on horseback under icing and chocolate coins, while children bang pot lids through the calli.

TipBuy the biscuit in the first week of November; the large iced ones in the historic bakeries are gone by the 11th.

Venice crosses a pontoon bridge over the Grand Canal to the Salute basilica every 21 November, then eats castradina, the smoked mutton and cabbage soup cooked only for this day.

TipOrder castradina a day ahead at a Dorsoduro osteria; stalls on Rio Tera dei Catecumeni sell frittelle and candied fruit from 19 November.

On Epiphany afternoon Malamocco burns the panevin, a wooden pyre seven metres high, and passes vin brule, bagigi and sweets round it while the Befana hands candy to the children.

TipThe pyre is lit in the afternoon of 6 January; dress for the lagoon wind and get there before dusk for a place near it.

Carnevale di Venezia is the city's centuries-old masked carnival, with the food side anchored on frittelle (cream-and-pinenut doughnuts) and galani at every.

TipRuns from the Saturday two and a half weeks before Shrove Tuesday through Shrove Tuesday itself. Events run across the historic centre, anchored at Piazza San Marco.

Venice keeps 25 April for its patron with a solemn mass in the basilica at 10.30, a rosebud given to a sweetheart, and risi e bisi, the rice and pea soup once served to the doge.

TipOrder risi e bisi at lunch: several osterie cook it only on this day, and fritoe are sold around the centre.

The Festa del Carciofo Violetto di Sant'Erasmo, on Sunday 10 May 2026 at Torre Massimiliana, honours the lagoon island's purple artichoke and its castraure with tastings and farm sales.

Tip2026 date: 10 May (second Sunday). Take vaporetto 13 from Fondamente Nove to Sant'Erasmo Capannone.

Vogalonga is the city's 30km non-competitive rowing regatta around the lagoon, founded 1975 to protest motorboat wave damage, with finish-line lunches.

Tip2026 date: Sunday 24 May. The 50th edition. Start 09:00 with a cannon shot from St Mark's Basin; the Cannaregio canal finish hits around 13:00.

A June week in Campo San Francesco della Vigna, run by the quarter's traders association, cooking bigoi in salsa, lasagne and fried fish with polenta under nightly live music.

TipDinner is served in the campo every evening; the procession of the saint through Castello falls on 13 June.

Nine days in the park behind the Sant'Antonio church on Pellestrina, where the gastronomic stand serves the island's own fish dishes, with takeaway, alongside live music and a lottery.

TipThe stand opens at 19.30 and only on five of the nine nights, so check the programme before crossing the lagoon.

Five days of Venetian cooking in Campo San Pietro at the far end of Castello, run by 150 volunteers, with a gastronomic stand, a solidarity market, concerts and a closing lottery.

TipThe stand opens on the first evening; go midweek, because the Saturday queue for the fried fish is long.

The fishing village of San Pietro in Volta gives over the turn of July to its patron saint, with a fish stand, a cross country race, comedies and open air dancing on the lagoon front.

TipThe stand serves dinner from the Thursday and both lunch and dinner over the closing weekend; the 11 bus runs down from the Lido.

Malamocco's July week, held since 1801, fills Piazza Maggiore with food stands and dancing around a night boat procession from Poveglia and the old rite of dressing the Madonna.

TipStands open at 19.30 each evening; plan the trip around the Wednesday night boat procession from Poveglia.

Pellestrina's late July week on Piazzale Zendrini runs a kitchen of typical island dishes beside orchestras and dancing, the Regata di Pellestrina, a lottery and closing fireworks.

TipConcerts run nightly on Piazzale Zendrini, and the Regata di Pellestrina is the fixture that anchors the whole week.

Alberoni at the southern tip of the Lido spends late August on the mussel, serving pastasciutta coi peoci and saltada de peoci beside a regatta, a market and a cross country race.

TipTake the 11 bus from Santa Maria Elisabetta; the regatta and the closing concert both fall on the final weekend.

Regata Storica is Venice's historic regatta on the first Sunday of September, with a 16th-century costumed boat procession and seven rowing races.

Tip2026 date: Sunday 6 September. The historic parade starts at 15:30; the races run through the afternoon to a finish at Ca' Foscari.

Sant'Erasmo presses its September grapes on the first Sunday of October and pours the mosto beside a market of the island's violet artichoke, preserved vegetables and lagoon cooking.

TipLine 13 from Fondamente Nove is the only way in; stalls open after the morning blessing of the farm carts and the regatta closes the day.