As a city of tradition, Tarquinia has a busy annual schedule of public events. Tourists who decide on Tarquinia will certainly not fall prey to boredom.
The feast day of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals, is celebrated on 17th January. On this occasion, a procession of butteri (cowboys) on horseback, in traditional costume, parades behind a statue of the saint with his hand raised in blessing. The wagon he is placed on is skilfully decked to resemble a garden, complete with a spouting spring, trees and live animals of all kinds: geese, rabbits, goats and ponies, making for the children's delight. The mass celebrated in Piazza Sant'Antonio ends with the blessing of a great number of animals and pets brought along by their little friends and owners. The feasting then continues for the rest of the day with pageants and games.
February is Carnival month, an important event involving every quarter of the town. The numerous balls, some of which are masked, occasion a taste of society life, and on Mardi Gras allegorical floats and groups of people in fancy dress go on parade. The Sagra della Castagnola (festival of chestnut-shaped sweets) promotes the local traditional carnival sweet.
Easter is especially important and dear to the people of Tarquinia. Tarquinians who happen to live elsewhere make a point of returning to their native town on this occasion, when religious and folk traditions conjoin. On Good Friday, a slow procession unwinds through the heart of the town: children dressed in ancient Roman clothes carry the symbols of the Passion of Christ, betokening the sad progress leading to His Crucifixion. On the following Sunday, His Resurrection is hailed by the most joyful and involving public display belonging to Tarquinian tradition. The wooden statue of Christ Resurrected, which popular legend attributes to a prisoner who turned blind after finishing the work, is carried at a quick pace on the shoulders of a group of young people especially chosen for their strength. Moving under the sway of its bearers, the statue seems to advance in a typical, almost dance-like movement filling spectators with excitement. Its progress is accompanied by an eagerly awaited, festive march played by the town band, while hunters fire deafening blank rifle shots into the air. Then the statue turns to bless the surrounding crowd, which feels particularly stirred and participant.
Tarquinia celebrates its mediaeval traditions in the month of May. The Jousts of the Quarters enliven the whole town and knights in costume compete in tournaments. Spring also turns everyone out into the woods in search of asparagus, chicory and misticanza (a variety of salads). Picnickers gather in clearings, then in buttero fashion, prepare the traditional acquacotta (wild chicory soup) in a large cauldron called a callaro. Meanwhile at home, people regale the good weather with tasty, fried borage pancakes.
The Branding Festival, or Merca, in which the wild livestock of the Roccaccia area is branded, gets people to rediscover the maremma countryside and experience the traditions of the local butteri, just like in American-style rodeos and in old cowboy darings.
The patron saint of the town, the Valverde Madonna, is commemorated on the first Sunday in May. An Agricultural Machinery Trade Fair is concurrently held in Tarquinia Lido, where not only farming equipment (from simple tools to all-accessory tractors) is on show, but also products from the construction, nautical and automobile industries. At the same time, the traditional Tarquinia Festival, displaying all the typical products of the town, is in full swing in the city centre.
On Corpus Christi Day, in June, the town streets are literally covered with petals of flowers of every shape and colour, thanks to the painstaking work of young people who spend a whole night putting together extraordinarily beautiful images.
Summer is the busiest season of the year. As well as enjoying the beach life, tourists can also take the opportunity of visiting exhibitions, banqueting at mediaeval suppers, attending festivals, and going on night tours of Etruscan places and the historic city centre. Or they might like to choose from the numerous events on schedule: concerts, guided tours, and ballet and open-air theatrical performances. The 'Etruscan Nocturnal', in which internationally famous artists perform at the archaeological sites of the Ara della Regina and the Tomb of the Aninas, is of particular consequence.
The festival reaches its peak during the Summer Carnival in the month of July, when an ever-increasing number of allegorical floats and groups of masqueraders parade along the promenade at Tarquinia Lido. Ascension Day, on 15th August, is celebrated with a suggestive, traditional, nocturnal procession of boats and pyrotechnics by the sea.
Autumn is a season of neighbourhood and food festivals: San Martino shares the honours with his majesty the Ferlengo mushroom, a quasi-divinity in Tarquinia. In spite of the scarcity of feathered game, thrushes and quails are still to be found on the spit during the hunting season.
At Christmas, the Associazione Amici del Presepio (Friends of the Crèche Association) organises a crèche itinerary traversing the whole town. Concerts and choir singing can be heard in churches, while pasta with walnuts, panpepato (a kind of spice cake) and tozzetti (very crunchy nut biscuits) warm up home life.