La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox: go to newsletter preferences in ‘My Account’ or follow the instructions in the newsletter box below.

Halloween is coming, and it’s one of my favourite times of the year. I’ve already begun celebrating by watching scary movies, and I’ve bought the biggest zucca (pumpkin) I could find at the market ready to carve – and also turn into a delicious risotto – over the weekend.

There won’t be any fancy-dress parties to go to in my part of Italy, though, and we only ever get a couple of trick-or-treaters coming to the door to ask: “dolcetto o scherzetto?“. I always feel like I’ve gone a little bit overboard with the spooky decorations draped all over the balcony.

If you live here, you’ll know that most Italians don’t share my enthusiasm for this particular holiday, and Halloween parties – at least for adults – aren’t really a thing. In the past I have attended events in Rome and Florence, though these were geared entirely towards those cities’ international residents and visitors. These are great fun, but what do Italians do?

Restaurants in Italy are increasingly putting on special Halloween dinner menus, which are more about celebrating seasonal produce than anything spooky – though sometimes customers might dress up for the occasion. We looked at what else you can expect over the next few days:

READ ALSO: Not many carved pumpkins but a day off: How does Italy mark Halloween?

If you share my love of scary films though you’re in luck because Italian cinema does those well.

The ‘giallo‘ genre incorporates elements of horror, murder mystery, supernatural and psychological thriller, and most are underscored by chilling soundtracks. Italian directors inspired successive generations of international film-makers, so you may well spot a few familiar tropes.

We have a few suggestions for the creepiest Italian horror films to watch this Halloween – if you think your nerves can stand it.

READ ALSO: Five scary Italian horror movies to watch at Halloween

There is an important cultural reason why Halloween hasn’t really caught on in Italy though: the strong influence of the Catholic church, particularly down here in the more religious south, where Halloween can be a little controversial.

People will instead mark more traditional Catholic festivities in the coming week: All Saints’ Day (Ognissanti) celebrated on November 1st, and Il Giorno dei Morti on November 2nd (the ‘Day of the Dead’, known elsewhere as All Souls’ Day).

November 1st is a public holiday, and for most people this will revolve around a big family lunch. It’s a particularly big deal in the south where onomastici or saints’ name days are still widely observed: Ognissanti is essentially everyone’s name day at once, which is why you’ll be expected to wish everyone you meet ‘Auguri!’

November 2nd is a more solemn date. It’s not a public holiday, and despite the name it doesn’t involve any spooky goings on and definitely isn’t an occasion for fancy dress. We explained what these traditions are all about in the article below:

READ ALSO: Why Italy’s All Saints and All Souls days have nothing to do with Halloween

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Is there an aspect of the Italian way of life you’d like to see us write more about? Please email me at [email protected].