7 events Updated September 29, 2026

Parma events and festivals

This year's dates, and what they cost

Festival Verdi, the ham festival, November Porc in the Bassa and the truffle fair at Fragno, with this year's dates, what they cost and what they do to hotel prices.

Audience at a concert inside the wooden Teatro Farnese in ParmaWorth it

Festival Verdi

The 26th Festival Verdi: a rare Alzira, a new Nabucco by Pier Luigi Pizzi and Zeffirelli's miniature Aida in Busseto, plus the Requiem, a concert in the Teatro Farnese and a month of free Verdi Off events.

October 1–25, 2026 Teatro Regio and Busseto Box office +39 0521 203999
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Teatro Regio di ParmaIs an opera at the Teatro Regio worth it?Busseto and Verdi's country
Prosciutto di Parma ham showing its ducal-crown fire brandWorth it

Festival del Prosciutto di Parma

Langhirano's ham festival and its Finestre Aperte weekends, when producers open their curing rooms for €2. The 2026 edition is over; 2027 dates are not announced, but the pattern is early September.

Early September; 2027 TBA €2 factory tours, under-18s free Langhirano, 24 km from Parma
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Prosciutto di ParmaProsciutto house visit in LanghiranoTorrechiara Castle
Cook slicing warm spalla cotta on a board at the November Porc fair in SissaIt depends

November Porc

The Bassa's travelling pork fair: four villages, four weekends, giant boiled salumi handed out free on Sunday afternoons. A village sagra, not a gourmet event, and only practical by car.

Nov 6–29, 2026, four weekends €3 per person at each stop Po villages, 25–41 km by car
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Culatello di ZibelloThe Bassa and the PoAntica Corte Pallavicina
Plates of black truffles with price tags on a green cloth at a truffle fairIt depends

Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo Nero di Fragno

Four autumn Sundays in a Val Baganza village: a regulated truffle market with a weekly price board, truffle lunches, chestnuts and a small truffle museum. Car needed; the 2026 programme is not out yet.

Sundays Oct 18 to Nov 8, 2026 Via Mazzini, Calestano 33 km (21 miles) from Parma
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Black truffle hunting at FragnoThe Parma HillsTorrechiara Castle
Christmas tree with red star lights beside the lit clock tower on Piazza GaribaldiIt depends

Christmas in Parma

Parma does Christmas at a local scale: a Sunday market in Piazza Ghiaia, an ice rink, concerts and anolini in brodo on every family table. What is confirmed for 2026, and what is still unannounced.

Ghiaia market Nov 29–Dec 20 Anolini in brodo season Full 2026 programme not out yet
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Anolini in brodoPiazza GaribaldiPalazzo della Pilotta
Towering racks of Parmigiano Reggiano wheels with robotic turners in a dairy storeIt depends

Caseifici Aperti (Open Dairies)

The Parmigiano Reggiano Consorzio's open-dairy weekend: 53 dairies, 19 around Parma, tastings and wheel openings. The next date is not announced, and you can book the same visit any day of the year.

Last held May 23–24, 2026 53 dairies, 19 in Parma province Next date not announced
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Parmigiano Reggiano dairy visitParmigiano ReggianoBuying Parmigiano and prosciutto to take home
Stacks of cheese wheels and rows of cured hams on a white exhibition standSkip it

Cibus

Italy's big food trade fair is for buyers and producers, not visitors. The next edition is May 4–6, 2027, and Cibus Tec fills the fairgrounds on October 27–30, 2026. What that means for a trip.

Next edition May 4–6, 2027 B2B: trade visitors only Fiere di Parma, by the A1
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Parmigiano Reggiano dairy visitThe Food Museums (Musei del Cibo)Where to stay in Parma

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