Football on the Lake, Racing in Rome and Fun on the Snow… Italy’s Sporting Festivals

In addition to music, film, art, food and cultural events, Italy has its fair share of sport-based festivals.

From football on the shores of Lake Como to skiing and partying in the Alps, here are some worth checking out.

Festival dello Sport

Organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Festival of Sport is usually held in early October in Trento. It celebrates a wide range of sports. 

The event is less than a decade old but has attracted headline acts such as Roberto Baggio, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fabio Cannavaro and, away from calcio, stars such as Olympic 100m gold medallist Marcell Jacobs, champion skier Lindsey Vonn and Toni Kukoc, a three-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls.

Every year, more than 100 athletes, past and present, descend on Trento for interactive events and live interviews which take place across the city.

The best part? Entry is free. For specific talks from big-name guests, you will need to register via the Festival dello Sport’s portal, but there is no fee.

If you want to combine the festival with some football, the city’s team, AC Trento, play in Serie C. Tucked away in the valleys of the Dolomites, the city is in a region that has long been known for excelling in skiing and volleyball. It might not be the most glamorous stadium, but the Stadio Briamasco has a stunning backdrop.

Trento is easy to reach from several major airports in northern Italy. The closest is Bolzano, but due to its small size, most international visitors arrive via Verona, Venice or Bergamo. 

Festa della Serie A

The Festival della Serie A is a relatively recent creation, with the first event taking place in 2024. Hosted in Parma by Lega Serie A over a weekend in early June, the festival aims to showcase Italian football through workshops, interviews and insights from key figures, players past and present, and celebrities.

Fan Zones and Creative Hubs are set up in the city centre, creating a true immersive experience. Everything is free and tickets do not need to be snapped up in advance.

“The Festa della Serie A is what the league needs,” said Emanuele Corazzi, head of content for Italian sports media company Cronache di Spogliatoio. “They create good panels of guests. I’ve been for the last two years, but this year I went into the piazza with the public rather than being in the theatre, and it’s better because the public can get to hear stories from the Italian media.”

Cronache di Spogliatoio (Tales of the Dressing Room) had a stage in Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi this year, and Corazzi recalls a great atmosphere.

“We had to have bodyguards because lots of people were asking us for autographs and pictures! But it was brilliant,” he said. “Serie A needs to work more on this to show off its assets and the product.”

Parma does not have an airport so Bologna is the best option. It is an hour away by train.

Roma Sprint

It is no secret that athletics is a big deal in Italy – just think about the number of stadiums with a running track between the fans and the pitch.

Held between late spring and early summer at the Stadio dei Marmi within the Foro Italico complex in Rome, and a stone’s throw away from the Stadio Olimpico, Roma Sprint Festival features several races over the shorter distances.

Men and women compete in the 100m, 200m, 400m and relays. This year’s edition had the National Under-20 Relay Championships, which featured rising stars Kelly Doualla, the 16-year-old Italian from Pavia who set U18 European best times at 60m and 100m indoors in 2025, Margherita Castellani, a European relay champion at U18 and U20, and 400m prospect Francesco Pagliarini.

Roma Sprint also features prominent elite athletes. Fausto Desalu (Olympic relay champion at Tokyo 2021), Lorenzo Benati (European silver medallist with the Italian 4x400m relay team), Filippo Randazzo (long jumper) and Riccardo Meli (European silver medalist at 4x400m) have all appeared, while other guest stars have included Andy Diaz, world champion in the triple jump; Zaynab Dosso, world indoor champion over 60m and Eloisa Coiro, one of Italy’s leading middle-distance runners.

The 2025 and 2026 events were held in June, but there have also been opportunities to combine athletics and football, with the 2024 Roma Sprint happening in May and the 2023 edition in April.

But even if you can’t fit in a trip to the Stadio Olimpico to watch Roma or Lazio in action, you will not be short of options to keep you entertained in the capital city.

Rome is well connected to most airports in the UK.

Football festivals

The Como Cup is relatively new to the calendar, having started as a four-team tournament in the summer of 2025 and expanding to six clubs 12 months later.

Crystal Palace, Lens, Villarreal, Al-Ula and Famalicao took part in 2026 alongside hosts Como, with nine games taking place across four days. Fans were able to watch three matches in a day with just one ticket.

The friendly tournament, held at the end of July, helps teams prepare for the season ahead but the action at the Sinigaglia is just part of the Como Cup. British musician Craig David and DJ Patrick Nazemi performed at Club On The Lake, Como’s newest private social destination, while the fan zone at Piazza Cavour housed a kids’ area with games and activities, including foot bowling.

As well as standard day tickets, there are a range of hospitality packages on sale, plus boat trips and luxury experiences, making Como a unique setting for a pre-season tournament.

Yet there are other football festivals in Italy if you look down the divisions. One is Festa della Lumaca, near the city of Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna. Known as the ‘Snail Festival’, it is held at the home of amateur outfit Casumaro FC.

The Tonino Govoni gym hosts the Snail Festival, which has been running for more than 50 years. Held twice a year, the summer event takes place in July and into August, while the autumn edition is held in October. 

All the proceeds go towards keeping the club afloat. The easiest way to get to Casumaro is by flying to Bologna, then taking a train or hiring a car to reach Casumaro. It is about 30 miles to the north.

Another football festival is held in the small Alpine village of Carcoforo, in the Valsesia near Vercelli in Piedmont. The Torneo di Calcio a Squadre con Festa della Birra (Tournament of Football and Celebration of Beer), the event is held during the third weekend of July by Pro Loco Carcoforo, a non-profit organisation that promotes tourism and hospitality in the area. 

Dubbed the festival where ‘football is just the side dish’, the event is known for its carnival-like atmosphere and large-scale barbecues serving traditional food and regional delicacies. Admission to the event is free, although you will need to pay for some activities included in the festival.

The simplest way to get to the valley is by flying into Milan, then hiring a car and making the near-two-hour drive. There, you will find a very local experience with a little bit of calcio on top.

Snow Week

Is there a better place for a skiing event than the Italian Alps? Snow Week takes place in Sestriere, a resort in the western Alps near Turin and close to the French border.

Usually held during the first two weeks of December, it combines skiing, snowboarding and music, with DJs, themed parties and social events.

Now in its 22nd edition, prices for Snow Week start at €199.

Sestriere isn’t far from the centre of Turin (around 45 minutes by train) so it is worth checking fixtures and starting or finishing your trip with some calcio action at the home of Juventus or Torino.

The easiest way to reach Sestriere is by flying to Turin, with Caselle Airport well connected to the UK.