October is the month when Le Marche slows down and fills the air with the scent of harvest. The hills are alive with ripe grapes, the streets with roasting chestnuts, and the village squares with music and food festivals. It’s the time when farmers gather the fruits of a year’s work and the landscape shifts from green to gold.
For food lovers, it’s one of the most exciting and rewarding times to visit, a moment to savour Italy’s deep connection between land, season, and table.
The Grape Harvest
In October, the grape harvest sets the rhythm of daily life. At sunrise, farmers can be seen gathering bunches by hand in the soft light, filling crates with juicy Verdicchio or Montepulciano grapes. Tractors loaded with fruit rumble through winding roads, while laughter echoes from the vineyards.
The most famous celebration of this season is Cupramontana’s Sagra dell’Uva – Italy’s oldest wine festival. For over 90 years, this hilltop town has marked the harvest with parades, tastings, live music, and an abundance of local food. It’s a festival that blends history, culture, and pure joy. A true expression of the Italian festa spirit.
Taste & Learn: At Oliveto Estate, we can arrange visits to local cantine (wineries) where you’ll not only taste Verdicchio straight from the source, but also learn about the centuries-old winemaking traditions that define the region. You’ll discover why this crisp white wine pairs so beautifully with Le Marche’s seafood, cheeses, and sun-soaked produce.
Chestnuts & the First White Truffles
As the evenings cool and autumn deepens, the scent of roasting chestnuts fills the Sibillini Hills. In towns such as Smerillo and Montemonaco, locals gather in the piazzas, warming their hands on cones of freshly roasted chestnuts while sharing stories of the harvest. These nuts have long been a staple of the region, once sustaining entire mountain communities through the colder months, and today appearing in soups, cakes, and handmade pastas.
Meanwhile, in Acqualagna, excitement builds as the first white truffles of the year are unearthed. This small village is home to one of Italy’s most important truffle fairs, drawing hunters, chefs, and food enthusiasts from across the country. Watching a truffle being graded and sold at market, or tasting it shaved fresh over buttered tagliatelle, is to experience autumn in its purest, most luxurious form.
Taste & Learn: Discover how chestnuts and truffles tell the story of Le Marche’s mountain heritage. Simple ingredients elevated by time, tradition, and the region’s respect for nature’s rhythm.
The Quiet Conero Coast
By October, Conero Riviera, so lively in summer with the typical Italian bagnini (beachbars) transforms into a place of natural beauty. Trails such as Passo del Lupo and the Belvedere overlook turquoise coves, and the Spiaggia di due Sorelle, while gentle sea breezes carry the scent of pine and salt.
The seaside towns of Sirolo and Numana invite you to linger in their quiet piazzas, enjoying long lunches of fresh seafood and local wine where its easy to see the subtle connections between coast and countryside – the way Verdicchio complements brodetto (fish stew), or how olive oil from the hills finds its way into every coastal kitchen.
Taste & Learn: October is the perfect month to explore the region’s coastal gastronomy. Join a hike trip to hidden beaches, stop for a seafood tasting along the shore, or simply sit with a plate of fried anchovies and a glass of Verdicchio as the sun sets over the Adriatic.
Medieval Villages & Art Towns
Inland, Le Marche’s medieval towns seem to glow under the golden autumn light. Urbino, Fermo, and Ascoli Piceno feel timeless. Their cobbled streets quieter now, their trattorie serving dishes that speak of the season: wild-boar ragù, porcini risotto, or slow-braised meats with new olive oil.
As you wander through these towns, the connection between food, art, and history becomes clear. Each meal feels like an expression of place shaped by the same patience and craftsmanship you see in the Renaissance frescoes or centuries-old architecture around you.
Taste & Learn: Take a slow walk through the local markets and you’ll see the essence of October on every stall – mushrooms, pumpkins, figs, and fresh-pressed olive oil. It’s a time when the region’s culinary traditions come alive, and every dish tells you unmistakably: it’s harvest season in Le Marche.
Why October is for Foodies
October is when Le Marche tastes most alive. You can sip Verdicchio at a wine festival, hunt for truffles with local experts, snack on roasted chestnuts in a mountain square, and finish the day after a wonderful hike or bike ride beside the Adriatic with seafood and a sunset view.
It’s a month for slowing down, eating locally, and celebrating a region where the food, the people, and the landscape all tell the same story – one of authenticity, abundance, and deep connection to the land.
