What's on in Siena, Italy through the year

Peak crowds — Christmas and the Befana, Christmas holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Christmas and the Befana (8 Dec – 6 Jan)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — Easter and Pasquetta, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Easter and Pasquetta

  29 Mar – 6 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowded

  The first coach week of the year in the Campo, and the point at which the Crete Senesi are as green as they ever get before the summer burns them brown. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Easter and Pasquetta, Easter holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Easter and Pasquetta (29 Mar – 6 Apr)

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Peak crowds — Palio of 2 July, Summer holidays in Italy

• Festival

  Palio of 2 July

  29 Jun – 2 JulMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Four days of trial races, contrada dinners in the streets and a ninety-second race round a dirt track laid over the Campo. The centre of the square is free and packed by mid-afternoon. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Palio of 2 July, Summer holidays in Italy

• Hazard

  Tuscan inland heat

  5 Jul – 25 AugExtreme heat

  Siena is a hill town with brick that holds heat and a shadeless main square. Civil protection heat alerts for inland Tuscany run through most of this stretch. Source ↗

Still on: Palio of 2 July (29 Jun – 2 Jul)

Peak crowds — Ferragosto, Palio of 16 August

• Holiday

  Ferragosto

  8–22 AugSchool holidaysClosuresCrowded

  The August Palio sits inside the Italian holiday fortnight, so the town gets the crowds of both while a good share of its own shops and kitchens are shut. Source ↗

• Festival

  Palio of 16 August

  13–16 AugMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The second and larger Palio, run in the hottest fortnight of the year. Balcony seats are sold privately and a year ahead; the ground in the middle of the Campo costs nothing and fills by three. Source ↗

Still on: Tuscan inland heat (5 Jul – 25 Aug)

Busy — Summer holidays in Italy, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Chianti and Brunello harvest

  5 Sep – 15 Oct · usually

  The picking runs through September in the hills either side of the city, and it is the one time of year the estates are working rather than pouring for visitors.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  White truffle and new oil

  20 Oct – 15 Dec · usuallyForaging season

  White truffle around San Giovanni d'Asso from late October, then the olive pressing in November and oil so green it stains the bread. The best eating months in the province.

Still on: Chianti and Brunello harvest (5 Sep – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: White truffle and new oil (20 Oct – 15 Dec (usually))

Peak crowds — Christmas and the Befana, Christmas holidays in Italy

• Holiday

  Christmas and the Befana

  8 Dec – 6 JanChristmas & New Year

  Panforte and ricciarelli in every window, an empty Campo and short winter opening hours at the cathedral and the Palazzo Pubblico. Cold, and the fog sits in the valleys below. Source ↗

Still on: White truffle and new oil (20 Oct – 15 Dec (usually))