Lugano in Autumn
Who does not love the autumn colors, the warm light on the houses and the landscape, the freshness of the morning that heralds a sunny afternoon? In Lugano, the season begins with a series of outdoor events around the city, but from now until December there are also numerous proposals in art, cinema, theatre, music, and literature.
We run out of September with the Stralugano, which spans the whole weekend of the 27–28 September. In addition to the most popular race, the 10 km CityRun, it is possible to register for competitions of varying difficulty levels, from children’s races to the more demanding 21 km.
For those who love villages and outdoor art, for a few more weeks it is still possible to go to Carona for the photo exhibition “Sport & sport. The rhythm of the challenge”, part of Carona Immagina (photos by Bob Martin, Filippo de Fernex and Ti-Press, until 31 October) and to the village of Gandria for the exhibition “D’altronde”, spread across the stone walls and along the lakeside (installations and sculptures by Martin Chramosta and Lucas Herzig, until 2 November).
The first weekend of October features the highlight of the season: the Festa d’autunno, which from 3 to 5 October offers food and wine specialties, typical grottini, live music, and a parade of vintage tractors. Unmissable is the appointment with La Corte dei Patrizi, with the participation of the 15 Patriziati of Lugano: this year’s theme is “On the chestnut path” and, for the occasion, a special exhibition will be set up. Among the other novelties is the AgriFestival, an event dedicated to the promotion of Ticino products certified Ticino regio.garantie, presented at about twenty stalls.
The weekend of 4 and 5 October will also delight architecture, urban space, and territory enthusiasts, with the first Ticino edition of Open House, the popular format born in London in 1992 and later expanded to about sixty cities worldwide. Two days to freely discover numerous public and private buildings throughout the Canton. In Lugano, it will be possible to visit – with exceptional guides – the backstage of the LAC, Palazzo Riva di Cioccaro, the Banca del Gottardo, Cinema Corso, the Biblioteca dei frati and the Biblioteca cantonale, the kindergartens of Molino Nuovo and Cadro, and even the construction site of Lugano’s railway station.
On Saturday, 27 September, the MASI inaugurates the exhibition “David Weiss. Il sogno di Casa Aprile”, which retraces, through the work of the artist David Weiss (1946–2012), the experience of the lively and dynamic artistic community that flourished in Carona between 1968 and 1978. In those years, Casa Aprile, owned by the Wenger family, became a meeting place for artists and intellectuals from all over Europe. Also at MASI, until 11 January, 2026, the large retrospective on Richard Paul Lohse (1902–1988), with a selection of over 50 paintings covering the four crucial decades of the artist’s career, from the 1940s until his passing.
The new music season of the LAC, curated by artistic director Andrea Amarante, hosts top performers in a program of fifty events including symphonic concerts, chamber music, jazz and world, electronic music, and in-depth discussions. Meanwhile, at the Foce the Raclette and Jazz me up! series, as well as Random’s musical evenings, are resuming with great energy.
The meetings at the Casa della letteratura della Svizzera italiana continue. At Villa Saroli, Swiss and international writers will be hosted, from Matteo Terzaghi to Helena Janeczek, from Noè Albergati to Antonella Anedda and Andrea Cortellessa.
If you love the atmosphere of the theatre, don’t miss, from 3 to 12 October, the International Theatre Festival (FIT Festival), with theatre performances, dance, and much more. From 18 October to 9 November, there is instead the historic International Puppet Festival.
From 12 to 19 October, the Film Festival Diritti Umani Lugano returns: ten days to bring the theme of Human Rights to the center of debates and screenings, to give voice to authors who find in cinema a means of expression and freedom, to denounce Human Rights violations without complacency, and to give space to those who are already committed to defending these rights.
For children aged 6 to 12, the screenings of the film club La lanterna magica continue, offering a new film every month. Upcoming events: 8 October, 29 October and 26 November, at the Lux cinema in Massagno.
On 10 and 11 November, the first edition of the Lugano Global Forum will take place, an event dedicated to geopolitics and the global economy that brings together European political and business leaders, bankers, and asset managers, with the aim of reflecting on the rapid changes our world is undergoing.
The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.