If for children, the Halloween festival means combining fear and fun in the classic ritual of trick-or-treating, for adults it is often an opportunity to enjoy an evening - masked or not - in good company and with good food.
These will be the main ingredients of October at FICO, Bologna's theme park on Italian food, which will offer its public a masked parade with monsters, vampires and witches to entertain children and adults alike, lots of themed events, and a special culinary review thanks to the creativity, raw materials and expertise of its operators representing flavours from all over Italy.
From the Pumpkin Park to the Labyrinth of Horrors: every day an event dedicated to Halloween
Throughout the month of October, FICO will host dozens of Halloween-themed events for the whole family. Every weekend in the themed areas of the Park, the sweetest tradition of the year will be observed with 'Trick or Treat'. Children aged 3 to 12 will receive a Halloween bag at the Park entrance to hunt for the most coveted sweets, hidden among the rides and restaurants of FICO.
There is also room for fun for the older children with the "Horror Trail" (22 and 23 October) set up inside one of the Park's food factories: an intense experience with flesh-and-blood characters who will interact with those who venture inside the factory and try to get out of a labyrinth strewn with monsters.
Masked entertainment will then be provided for the entire Halloween weekend: on 31 October, the spectacular Zombie Walk will be held between the themed areas of the Park, a large horror parade with hundreds of masked characters that everyone will be able to join, being "zombified" by the make-up artists present.
All the taste of Italian-style Halloween with "monstrous" menus and recipes
Inside FICO for Halloween dinner, there will be a wide choice of food prepared by the park's restaurants and workshops, including good food and above all themed experiences thanks to the virtuous use of typically autumnal raw materials and the representation of different culinary traditions, from the North to the South of Italy.
From the special sandwich proposed by the Bologna Mortadella Consortium with IGP mortadella, pumpkin and pomegranate cream (specially treated to resemble blood and give a horror touch to the dinner) to the "Tagliere degli Zombie" (Zombie's Chopping Board) with a selection of local cured meats by the Osteria del Culatello, and the proposal of the Prosciutto San Daniele Consortium, which exceptionally proposes the "Scaryburger" made with black bread with charcoal, squacquerone cheese, tomatoes in oil and, of course, San Daniele ham.
In addition to cold cuts, there will be many other options: the "Zuppa delle Streghe" (Witches' Soup) from the Bottega del Vino di Fontanafredda (with pumpkin cream, quacquerone cheese, seeds and crunchy bread) and the "Radiatori di Gragnano IGP mantecati al nero di seppia" (Gragnano IGP pasta with squid ink, on a tomato and pumpkin cream sauce reduction and splash), which will be prepared by Pastificio Gragnanese Di Martino .
Space will also be given to Rossopomodoro's special Halloween pizza with pumpkin, sausage and chilli pepper, and to the creativity of Peschereccio Italia, which will offer 'salmon zombie eyes' made with squid ink gnocchi and purple potatoes with salmon sauce accompanied by fried pumpkin flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies.
Finally, there will be no shortage of sweetness to accompany a chilling evening, including pumpkin cakes with strawberry puree drizzle to remind one of a "bleeding dessert" and sweet piadina cakes stuffed with hazelnut spread and smarties.
Appointment then at FICO Eataly World to spend a Halloween weekend with a "creepy" dinner with a truly unique flavour.
The entire calendar of events is already available on the website.
FICO EATALY WORLD - Via Paolo Canali, 8