Each year, the municipality of Marradi organizes the festival of chestnuts in October with the aim of enhancing this magnificent product of the woods of Marradi and all of Mugello. This year the festival has come to its 54th edition and will take place on the following Sundays: 8, 15, 22, 29. We will discover together some curiosity and useful information on this festival, especially how to reach Marradi with the steam train.

History of chestnut festival and the product

The first festival of chestnuts was held in 1963. Since the early years it has had a great success and immediately assumed the appearance of a gourmet festival. In 1971 it became a national act and the newspaper “La Nazione” devoted a whole article to this event. Even then traditional dishes were made with the good chestnuts, which has now become a product of IGP (Protected Geographical Indication). The most important dishes are: chestnuts’s cake, tortelli with chestnut, chestnut roaster, castagnaccio, chestnuts jam, marrons glacés.

The fair was born because in these lands chetstnuts was a very important resource, so to be called “the tree of bread” as they replaced grain and corn. Chestnut flour was used in place of bread and pasta. Families also found ways to conserve this product for use throughout the year. Over time in addition to the sale of chestnuts began to be present also the stands of typical products of the woods and undergrowth and to animate the festival there were musicians and music bands.

Steam train history

The steam locomotive appeared at the beginning of 1800 in England to replace the horse at that time used to tow trolleys of coal in the mines. Immediately the potential of this new machine was intuited. However, the first effective steam locomotive was built by George Stephenson and his son Robert: the “Rocket”. The first steam locomotives had a rather rudimentary structure that over time was perfected. In Italy, the first steam locomotives used were English, French and Belgian construction. But soon they began to be built directly in Italy. However, this activity did not last long because of the excessive cost of coal.

How to reach by steam train Marradi

To reach the Marradi chestnut festival, you can experience a unique and unrepeatable experience on a historic road, the steam train. The journey will take place on a vintage locomotive and original carriages made available by the Italian Tourist Railways (FTI), in collaboration with the State Railways.

The trip to reach with steam train Marradi will take place on the following Sunday in October: 15, 22 and 29 and will travel the “Faentina”. These are the railway network connecting Faenza to Florence. The routes taken are as follows:

• OCTOBER 15: PISTOIA – PRATO – FLORENCE – MARRADI

To see the program click here

• 22 OCTOBER: RIMINI – CESENA – FORLI- FAENZA- MARRADI

To see the program click here

• OCTOBER 29: RIMINI-CESENATICO-CERVIA-RAVENNA-MARRADI

To see the program click here

The seats are limited and the reservation is compulsory.

For information and reservations contact Agenzia Antologia Viaggi

• Email: samuela@antologiaviaggi.it
• Tel. 0573 367158

The ticket price of the steam train ticket also includes entrance to the festival and is € 44.00 for adults and for children up to 10 years it is € 3.00.

Discover the history and attractions of Marradi by clicking here