Capodanno Alessandrino

Why it's special

There's no single stage: the whole old town takes part, and you walk from one courtyard or square to the next, paying only for what you eat and drink. It has its own numbering of the years, a theme and a colour code, and it has supported the Alessandria section of AIL, the leukaemia charity, for well over a decade.

Programme · 2026

22nd edition, theme 'Anno dell'Amore' (Year of Love). About twenty bars and restaurants take part; walking around is free.

• With children, come for the early evening: the Banda Civica parades through the centre in the early evening, and the bars carry on late, so after about 21:00 it turns into a grown-ups' night.
• Many of the dinners in the squares need booking.

On 31 August Alessandria celebrates a New Year of its own. The Capodanno Alessandrino began in 2004 as an idea hatched at the Vineria Mezzolitro by Monica Moccagatta and Marco Beria, and it has since become a fixture of the city's late summer: the date never moves, whether it falls on a Monday or a Sunday, and each edition counts as a new "year" with its own theme and colours.

It is a party spread across the historic centre rather than a single show. It opens at midday with a toast, museums and exhibitions open their doors, and from the early evening the Banda Civica parades through the streets while bars and restaurants set up music, long tables and street parties in the squares, from Piazza Santa Maria di Castello to Piazza Santo Stefano and Piazzetta Monserrato. Walking around costs nothing; you pay for what you eat and drink, and many of the dinners need booking.

The festival raises money for the Alessandria section of AIL, the Italian leukaemia charity, which it has supported for more than fifteen years. The theme, programme and dates for each year are in the editions table.

See Alessandria for the city, and the Festa del Cristo and Gagliaudo tra i Mercanti for its other big street festivals.