Le Nuvole · Diario

Tag: autumn

  • What we like this month: October in Ferrara

    What we like this month: October in Ferrara

    The first foggy mornings. Bicycles with their lights already on at six. And that smell of woodsmoke drifting in from who knows where.

    October is the month when Ferrara feels more tucked in, and we like it that way. But it isn't a quiet month: the October events in Ferrara come one after another, start to finish: a city that turns into a newsroom, the lagoons lighting their fires, and a food festival to close. Here's what we like.

    The city becomes a newsroom: Internazionale

    It starts straight away. From 2 to 4 October 2026 Internazionale a Ferrara returns, the journalism festival that turns the centre into the biggest newsroom in the world. Talks, presentations, screenings, exhibitions and workshops, with journalists, writers and photographers from all over the world.

    On those days Ferrara feels like a different city. You queue for a talk, debate under the porticoes, come out of a hall with a new question in your head. A tip from those of us who are in the dining room every evening: the city fills up, and so do the tables. If you want an unhurried dinner between one talk and the next, it's worth planning ahead.

    All autumn long: the exhibition at Palazzo dei Diamanti

    For the whole month, and until 10 January 2027, Palazzo dei Diamanti is showing "Da Monet a Van Gogh a Kandinsky" (From Monet to Van Gogh to Kandinsky): 120 works, most of them from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Between one Internazionale talk and the next, it's the perfect excuse for a morning among the paintings. We wrote here about what to see and how to plan your visit.

    Smoke from the lagoons: the last weekends of the Sagra dell'Anguilla

    In Comacchio the Sagra dell'Anguilla, the eel festival, continues for two more weekends: 3 and 4 October, 10 and 11 October 2026.

    October is the right month. In the lagoons the fishing season opens, running from October to December, with the lavorieri, the traditional fishing weirs. And at the Manifattura dei Marinati there's the Sala dei Fuochi, the Hall of Fires, with its twelve great fireplaces: eels on spits, the embers, the smoke rising and filling the room. With a name like ours, it's hard to remain unmoved.

    A Sunday among the canals of Comacchio, then an evening at the table, talking about it. The sea and the lagoons are our home ground, and in autumn you feel them more than ever.

    The colour of pumpkin

    We're a fish trattoria, but October in Ferrara has only one colour: pumpkin orange. It's the season of cappellacci di zucca ferraresi, the local pumpkin-filled pasta, PGI since 2016 (IGP in Italian): egg pasta with a filling of violina pumpkin, cheese, breadcrumbs and a hint of nutmeg. And no amaretti, unlike the tortelli from Mantua. Around here, we're particular about that.

    You'll find them all over the city, and rightly so: they're worth tasting where they've always been made. To find out more about the traditional dishes, we wrote here about what to eat in Ferrara.

    To close the month: the Ferrara Food Festival

    At the very end, from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, the historic centre hosts the fifth edition of the Ferrara Food Festival: cooking demonstrations, tastings and local specialities, from salama da sugo, Ferrara's slow-cooked pork salami, to pampapato, the spiced chocolate cake. A nice way to say goodbye to October and open the way to winter.

    On the plate and in the glass

    In the kitchen, autumn has really arrived. Paolo follows what the sea brings and what the lagoons bring, and the off-menu specials are described in person, table by table.

    In the glass, there are two local answers. With eel, the Fortana frizzante from Bosco Eliceo: bubbles and acidity to cut through the richness. With pumpkin, the Fortana ferma, the still version, which holds up well to the sweetness of the filling. Two bottles, one season.

    Frequently asked questions

    When is Internazionale a Ferrara in 2026?
    From 2 to 4 October 2026, in the centre of Ferrara, with talks, screenings, exhibitions and workshops.

    When is the Ferrara Food Festival 2026?
    From Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, in the historic centre. It's the fifth edition.

    Do cappellacci di zucca ferraresi contain amaretti?
    No. Cappellacci di zucca ferraresi PGI contain no amaretti: that's the main difference from the tortelli di zucca of Mantua.

    If you're passing by

    October is a full month, best enjoyed slowly. If you're in town for the festival, for the sagra or just for the first fog, the table is ready. Something warm, a local bottle, and the evening drawing in early.

    We look forward to seeing you. And if you already know us, you know the best thing is when you come back.

  • From Monet to Van Gogh to Kandinsky: the exhibition at Palazzo dei Diamanti (and dinner afterwards)

    From Monet to Van Gogh to Kandinsky: the exhibition at Palazzo dei Diamanti (and dinner afterwards)

    A façade of marble cut to diamond points. The afternoon light sliding across them and turning them pink. And inside, this autumn, Monet, Van Gogh and Kandinsky.

    Since 19 September the exhibition at Palazzo dei Diamanti has been the kind that makes people come to Ferrara on purpose: "Da Monet a Van Gogh a Kandinsky. Nuovi sguardi sulla natura e la modernità" (From Monet to Van Gogh to Kandinsky: New Perspectives on Nature and Modernity), open until 10 January 2027. We like the idea of half of modern European painting spending a few months in our city. Here's what to see, how to plan your visit, and how to round off the day.

    What to see

    There are 120 works: paintings, drawings and prints. Most of them come from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, alongside a selection from major Italian collections, public and private.

    A simple question runs through the exhibition: how do you go, in less than eighty years, from painting a field from life to dissolving it into shapes and colours? The route is divided into nine chapters and follows exactly that path:

    1. The Barbizon School, landscape observed from life.
    2. The Macchiaioli, the Italian answer, all light and colour.
    3. Impressionism, the perception of a single moment.
    4. The Hague School, the Dutch version: more sober, more atmospheric.
    5. The Post-Impressionists, when colour and form become independent.
    6. Divisionism, light that vibrates.
    7. City life, increasingly centre stage.
    8. Futurism, and then the return to order.
    9. Abstraction, where the visible world melts away.

    The names make your head spin: Courbet, Monet, Berthe Morisot, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Signac, Redon, Picasso, Bonnard, Vuillard, Kandinsky, Mondrian. And the Italians: Fattori, Signorini, Pellizza da Volpedo, Segantini, Previati, Boccioni, Sironi.

    A Ferrara native in the galleries: Boldini

    Among the Italians there is also Giovanni Boldini, born right here in Ferrara. The exhibition includes works from the city's Museo Giovanni Boldini, such as his Autoritratto a sessantanove anni (Self-Portrait at Sixty-Nine) from 1911. Seeing him alongside the greats of Paris, on home ground, feels special. That is how we like it: the world passing through, and Ferrara ready for it.

    The building itself, before the exhibition

    It is worth looking up before you go in. Palazzo dei Diamanti owes its name to its rusticated façade: around 8,500 blocks of white marble veined with pink, cut to a diamond point. It was designed by Biagio Rossetti, and building began in 1493, commissioned by Sigismondo d'Este.

    It stands on Corso Ercole I d'Este, the backbone of the Addizione Erculea, the part of the city Rossetti laid out for Ercole I and the reason Ferrara is called the city that invented the modern urban plan. The building faces the Quadrivio degli Angeli: stop at the crossroads for a minute and watch how the façade changes with the light. The Pinacoteca Nazionale, the national picture gallery, is housed here too.

    Planning your visit

    • Dates: from 19 September 2026 to 10 January 2027.
    • Opening hours: every day from 9.30 to 19.30. The ticket office closes at 18.30.
    • Tickets: full price 16 euros, audio guide included (on your smartphone too). Palazzo dei Diamanti's own advice, which we are happy to pass on: buy online in advance. Choose a time slot and walk straight in without stopping at the ticket office.
    • Where: Corso Ercole I d'Este 21. For information, call +39 0532 244949.

    A tip from those of us who live in the city all year round: on autumn weekends Ferrara fills up. In early October there is also Internazionale (2 to 4 October): if you are coming on those days, booking ahead is all but essential.

    The perfect day, in our opinion

    The exhibition in the morning, when the rooms are quieter. Then a slow walk along Corso Ercole I d'Este, as far as the city walls if your legs are up to it. The afternoon in the centre, between the Castello and the medieval streets, with the light fading early.

    And in the evening, dinner. After a day spent in front of Monet and Segantini, we find ourselves wanting simple, real things: fish from the Adriatic, the lagoons, a bottle from winemakers we know. You talk about paintings, you order whatever Paolo picked up today, and it feels good to be there.

    If you would like a fuller itinerary, we wrote about it here: Ferrara in one day, on foot and by bike.

    Frequently asked questions

    How long does the exhibition at Palazzo dei Diamanti run?
    "Da Monet a Van Gogh a Kandinsky" runs until 10 January 2027. It opened on 19 September 2026.

    What are the exhibition's opening hours?
    Every day from 9.30 to 19.30. The ticket office closes at 18.30.

    Which artists are in the exhibition?
    Among others Monet, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Degas, Renoir, Gauguin and Picasso, with the Italians Fattori, Segantini, Boldini and Boccioni. 120 works in total, most of them from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.

    Is it worth buying tickets online?
    Yes. Booking online, you choose a time slot and go in without stopping at the ticket office. At weekends it makes all the difference.

    If you're passing by

    An exhibition like this is a good excuse to come to Ferrara, or to come back. If after the paintings you fancy an unhurried dinner, the table is ready.

    We look forward to seeing you.

  • What we like this month: September in Ferrara

    What we like this month: September in Ferrara

    The evenings draw in, just a little. The light gets lower, more golden. And Ferrara, after the summer, fills up again.

    September is our favourite month for starting over. The city comes back to life by day, bicycles take back the streets, and in the countryside it's harvest time. The September events in Ferrara follow the same rhythm: a market that brings Europe to the avenue, the grape harvest scenting the evenings, and at the end of the month the lagoons waking up with the eel. Here is what we like.

    Europe on the avenue: the Mercato Europeo

    From 18 to 20 September 2026 the Mercato Europeo, L'EuropAFerrara, returns to viale Alfonso I d'Este. Over a hundred exhibitors, stalls from half of Europe, free entry.

    It's one of those things that puts us in a good mood: you stroll under the trees along the avenue, taste a cheese you didn't know, go home with something odd in your bag. You don't need a plan. Just a free afternoon and a bit of curiosity.

    Harvest time

    September, around here, is the month of the harvest. On the sands of Bosco Eliceo too, the DOC of the Ferrara coast, where the vines grow on soil that's almost pure sand, a stone's throw from the sea.

    We love the harvest for what it promises. It's the hands of the winemakers we know, the crates full, the good tiredness at the end of the day. It's the part of wine you don't see in the glass, and it's the part we care about most. If you'd like to know more, we wrote here about the wines of the sands and the winemakers we like.

    The lagoons wake up: the Sagra dell'Anguilla

    On 26 September the season that suits us best begins. In Comacchio the Sagra dell'Anguilla, the eel festival, returns over three weekends: 26 and 27 September, 3 and 4 October, 10 and 11 October 2026.

    The eel is the queen of the lagoons. It's born a very long way away, in the Sargasso Sea, and spends years in the waters of Comacchio before being caught with the lavorieri, the ancient fishing weirs of the lagoons. The fishing season runs from October to December: the festival, in effect, is an early greeting. The anguilla marinata tradizionale delle Valli di Comacchio, the traditional marinated eel, is a Presidio Slow Food, and it alone is worth the trip.

    Our advice: a Sunday in Comacchio, on foot along the canals, and then dinner in the evening. The sea and the lagoons are our liquid landscape, and September is when they make themselves felt most.

    On the plate and in the glass

    In the kitchen it's a change of season. Summer still leaves something behind, autumn is knocking. Paolo follows what comes in, day by day, and often the best dishes are the off-menu specials, described at the table.

    In the glass, with eel, there's a ready local answer: the Fortana frizzante from Bosco Eliceo. Acidity and bubbles cut through the richness, the savouriness of the wine calls to that of the lagoon. A house pairing, and still our favourite.

    Frequently asked questions

    When is the Mercato Europeo in Ferrara in 2026?
    On 18, 19 and 20 September 2026, on viale Alfonso I d'Este. Entry is free.

    When is the Sagra dell'Anguilla in Comacchio in 2026?
    Over three weekends: 26 and 27 September, 3 and 4 October, 10 and 11 October 2026, in the centre of Comacchio.

    Which wine goes with eel?
    We like the Fortana frizzante from Bosco Eliceo: the bubbles and acidity balance the richness of the eel.

    If you're passing by

    September is the month when the city comes home, and we come home with it. If you're passing by for the market, for the sagra, or just for a cooler evening, the table is ready. We talk about what came in today, open a local bottle, and it feels good to be there.

    We look forward to seeing you. No hurry.