Festa del Torrone returns to Cremona this November for its 29th edition, bringing one of Italy's best-known nougat traditions into the streets and squares of the city's historic centre.
The 2026 festival will take place from 7 to 22 November, with its main programme spread across three consecutive weekends: 7–8, 14–15 and 21–22 November.
According to the organisers, Festa del Torrone attracts more than 450,000 visitors each year, combining torrone in seemingly every possible form with tastings, show cooking, pastry demonstrations, live music, street performances and historical reenactments.
At the centre of it all is torrone itself, the Italian nougat traditionally made with ingredients such as honey, sugar, egg whites and nuts. In Cremona, the sweet has a particularly strong connection with the city and its history.
The theme for 2026 is “Il Confine – Dove gli opposti si incontrano”, or “The Border – Where Opposites Meet.” The programme plays with contrasts including tradition and innovation, sweet and savoury, artisan production and industry, and the past alongside the future.
What to Expect in 2026
This year's programme pushes torrone well beyond its traditional form. Among the more unusual creations are torrone sushi, a torrone tramezzino and pizza with torrone, alongside a Spritz-inspired version and a pairing with Prosciutto di Parma.
There will also be two large-scale creations: a life-size Prosciutto di Parma made entirely from torrone and a spectacular tennis racket made from torrone.
Food is only part of the programme. The historic centre will host music, dance and travelling performances, while Palatorrone becomes the main venue for tastings, show cooking and appearances by pastry chefs. Headline guests across the three weekends include Ernst Knam, Tommaso Foglia and Luca Perego, better known as Lucake.
The historical programme unfolds across the festival too. A Renaissance procession on 8 November introduces the story of Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza, culminating on 22 November with a reenactment of their 1441 wedding in Piazza del Comune — an event traditionally associated in Cremona with the origins of torrone.
Weekend One: 7–8 November — Torrone Sushi, a Giant Parma Ham and a Renaissance Procession
Festa del Torrone opens on Saturday with producers from across Italy filling Cremona's historic centre with torrone, traditional sweets and regional specialities. Piazza Roma's Giardini del Gusto becomes an open-air restaurant, while Palatorrone hosts tastings and show cooking around torrone and other local products.
Ernst Knam, known in Italy as the King of Chocolate, is the first of the festival's three headline pastry guests, appearing on 7 November.
Among Saturday's more theatrical attractions is the White Parade, with illuminated white costumes and stilt walkers moving through the centre before hundreds of enormous white balloons take over Piazza del Comune.
Food becomes more experimental on Sunday with torrone sushi, created by Sperlari in collaboration with Temakinho, a restaurant concept known for combining Japanese and Brazilian influences. The unusual pairing is one of three gastronomic experiments developed for this year's Il Confine theme, deliberately pushing torrone across the border between sweet and savoury.
Rivoltini will also unveil a life-size Prosciutto di Parma made entirely from torrone. After being displayed, the giant creation is expected to be broken up and shared with visitors in a public tasting.
Sunday afternoon shifts to Renaissance Cremona. Around 100 costumed participants representing the Gonzaga, Este, Sforza and Visconti courts will process through the historic centre to Piazza del Comune to honour Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza ahead of their wedding. Renaissance dances, flag throwers and a fire performance follow, setting up the wedding reenactment on the festival's final weekend.
Weekend Two: 14–15 November — A Torrone Tennis Racket, Historic Train and Aerial Show
Saturday brings another of Sperlari's sweet-and-savoury experiments: a torrone tramezzino, created with Cremona's historic tramezzino specialist Da Ugo. Rivoltini, meanwhile, will produce a a spectacular tennis racket made from torrone, celebrating a successful period for Italian tennis and paying tribute to Cremona's Canottieri Baldesio and its work promoting wheelchair tennis.
Producers, tastings and live entertainment continue throughout the historic centre, including the travelling Bubble On Circus, while Giardini del Gusto again operates as an open-air restaurant.
On Sunday, visitors from Milan have an unusual way to reach the festival aboard the historic ETR 252 Arlecchino, a distinctive Italian electric train from the 1960s departing from Milano Centrale.
One of Sunday's headline guests is Tommaso Foglia, whose career has included Don Alfonso 1890, international experience and appearances on Italian television. The day's programme also includes a torrone-and-chocolate pairing from Rivoltini and Riccardo Magni, Maicol Vitellozzi, creator of the cube-shaped brioche, and Marchesi 1824, represented by head pastry chef Diego Crosara.
InGalera, the restaurant operating inside Bollate prison near Milan, will also receive a festival award recognising its approach to training, work and social inclusion through hospitality.
The weekend ends in Piazza del Comune with Compagnia dei Folli's Arcano, combining aerial acrobatics, live music and illuminated figures above the square.
Weekend Three: 21–22 November — Torrone Cocktails, Pizza and a Renaissance Wedding
The final weekend begins on Saturday with producers, show cooking, mostarda, music and street performances across the historic centre.
In the evening, Torrone ad Alto Grado takes the festival into the world of cocktails. Cremona bartender Roberto, from Caffè Al 41 and 25 MQ, will explore different drinks alongside Rivoltini torrone.
Sunday brings the last of Sperlari's three experimental creations: pizza with torrone, developed with Pizzaiolo in Camicia.
The final Sunday also features Luca Perego, better known as Lucake, the third of the festival's headline pastry guests.
But the main event comes later that afternoon. More than 150 participants in Renaissance costume, accompanied by flag throwers, drummers, ladies, knights, archers and jesters, will process through Cremona for the reenactment of the wedding of Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza.
The procession ends in Piazza del Comune, where the bride waits in front of Cremona Cathedral for the groom. The wedding is then reenacted in the square, followed by flag-throwing displays and a final fire performance.
The ceremony recalls the couple's marriage in Cremona in 1441, traditionally associated in the city with the origins of torrone.
Why Visit Festa del Torrone?
Festa del Torrone offers something unusual for a food festival: visitors can come for the torrone, but spend much of the day watching processions, street performances and events across one of Lombardy's historic cities.
It also works well as part of a wider trip through northern Italy. Cremona is in Lombardy, between Milan and Parma and not far from Brescia, making it relatively easy to combine with other destinations in the region.
For international visitors, the most convenient airports are Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa and Bergamo, with onward connections to Cremona by train or bus.
Festa del Torrone 2026: Practical Information
Dates: 7–22 November 2026
Main festival weekends: 7–8, 14–15 and 21–22 November
Where: Historic centre of Cremona, Lombardy, Italy
The 2026 programme is still being updated. The latest programme and visitor information are available on the official Festa del Torrone website.
