Fiera di San Baudolino — Alessandria
Alessandria's patronal fair for San Baudolino, its patron saint (feast 10 November): a November weekend that fills the centre with typical-produce stalls — truffles, salumi, cheeses, honey, chocolate — plus wine tastings at Palazzo del Monferrato and the Corte del Gusto.
Why it's special
San Baudolino, a local 8th-century hermit, has shaped Alessandria's identity more than any other figure — on his day the schools close and the Duomo opens its Holy Door. The fair brings the whole province's food and wine into the streets around the feast.
Programme · 2025
The fair fills the city-centre streets and squares (stalls 9:00–19:00), on the weekend before the 10 November patron's day. Typical-produce market: truffles, salumi, cheeses, honey, mushrooms, fruit and veg, chocolate — including the Agnolotto di Alessandria and Salamini di vacca della Fraschetta, and Slow Food dishes. Corte del Gusto in the Camera di Commercio courtyard. 'Vini a Palazzo' at Palazzo del Monferrato — guided tastings and masterclasses, with Alta Langa DOCG in focus. Hot vin brûlé throughout.
- Head for the Corte del Gusto in the Camera di Commercio courtyard and 'Vini a Palazzo' at Palazzo del Monferrato for guided tastings; a cup of vin brûlé is the traditional way to walk the stalls.
- Stalls run roughly 9:00–19:00.
San Baudolino — an 8th-century hermit from Villa del Foro, on the Tanaro just outside town — is the patron of Alessandria, proclaimed so in 1786, and no figure has shaped the city's identity more. His feast on 10 November is a civic occasion: the schools close and the Duomo opens its Holy Door.
Around it comes the Fiera di San Baudolino, held on the preceding weekend. The centre's streets and squares fill with a broad typical-produce market — truffles, salumi, cheeses, honey, mushrooms, chocolate, the Agnolotto di Alessandria and the Salamini di vacca della Fraschetta among them — while the Corte del Gusto in the Chamber of Commerce courtyard and 'Vini a Palazzo' at Palazzo del Monferrato lay on guided wine tastings and masterclasses. A cup of vin brûlé is the traditional way to work the stalls.
The 2025 edition ran 8–9 November. Dates track the 10 November feast each year. See Alessandria for the provincial capital, and pair the visit with its other autumn fairs.