TL;DR The developer-conference anchor is the GrUSP cluster [16] at Hotel San Marco: phpday (PHP, May 14–15), reactjsday (React, Nov 19), and angularday (Angular, Nov 20) [9] — all at the same venue, making a combined trip easy. DATE 2026 (EDA / chip design, April 20–22 at Palazzo Gran Guardia) is the biggest event with ~1,500 attendees from 50+ countries [3]. Free options: UseCaseConf (Oct 1) and the AgrifoodTech Hackathon (Apr 16–17, students only).
All 2026 events at a glance
| Event | Dates | Venue | Focus | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hackathon AgrifoodTech | Apr 16–17 | Polo Santa Marta | Agrifood × tech (students/researchers) | Free |
| DATE 2026 | Apr 20–22 | Palazzo Gran Guardia | EDA, AI chips, quantum, embedded | reg. req. |
| phpday 2026 | May 14–15 | Hotel San Marco | PHP, backend, architecture, security | €399 + VAT |
| UseCaseConf 2026 | Oct 1 | TBC, Verona | Enterprise IT adoption (vendor-neutral) | Free |
| reactjsday 2026 | Nov 19 | Hotel San Marco | React 19, server components, perf | €249.99 + VAT |
| angularday 2026 | Nov 20 | Hotel San Marco | Angular, RxJS, signals, CI/CD | €249.99 + VAT |
DATE 2026 — Design, Automation and Test in Europe
DATE 2026 [1] is the 29th edition of Europe’s flagship conference for electronic system design and test [4], held April 20–22 at Palazzo della Gran Guardia, Piazza Brà [2]. Organizers: EDAA, IEEE CEDA, ACM SIGDA, and IEEE Computer Society [1].
Topics span EDA tools and methodologies, AI accelerator design, quantum computing systems, hardware–software co-design, and circuit synthesis [2]. The event draws ~1,500 professionals from 50+ countries [3], with sponsors including Cadence, Synopsys, and Arm [2].
Not relevant for weekend attendees unless you’re in EDA/semiconductor R&D. Piazza Brà is the main tourist square, so the venue is central.
AgrifoodTech Hackathon
April 16–17, 2026 · Polo Santa Marta, via Cantarane 24, Verona [6]
Organised by the Verona Agrifood Innovation Hub [5] with the University of Verona, this two-day hackathon pairs students and doctoral researchers with three industry partners: Mulino Padano (grain), REVO Insurance (agrifood risk), and VASONGROUP (wine biotech) [5]. Registration deadline: April 2, 2026 [6]. Free, but limited to students and researchers.
phpday 2026 (23rd edition)
phpday [7] · May 14–15 · Hotel San Marco, Via Baldassarre Longhena 42, Verona
GrUSP’s original and oldest conference [16], running since 2003. All sessions in English. Keynote speakers confirmed for 2026 include Derick Rethans (Xdebug), Gina Peter Banyard (PHP core), Sara Golemon (PHP Foundation Board), and Volker Dusch (PHP 8.5 Release Manager) [7]. Topics: API design, CI automation, architecture, performance, static analysis, security (zero trust), and legacy code [7].
Tickets [8]: €399 + VAT in-person (includes lunch, coffee breaks, streaming, and recordings). Early bird tiers exist; buy earlier for lower prices. Speakers receive ticket, hotel (up to 3 nights), and €250–€500 travel reimbursement [18].
UseCaseConf 2026
UseCaseConf [10] · October 1 · Verona (venue TBC)
Free with mandatory registration. Focus is vendor-neutral experience reports from enterprise IT: how large organisations actually adopt DevOps, cloud, AI/ML, cybersecurity, CI/CD, and IaC — what worked and what didn’t [10]. Proposals must come from end-user organisations (not vendors). CfS open through July 6, 2026 [10].
Good pick for engineering managers and architects; not a hands-on developer workshop.
GrUSP November double-header: reactjsday + angularday
Both events are at Hotel San Marco on consecutive days — pair them for a full Verona tech weekend [9].
reactjsday 2026 (12th edition) — November 19
All sessions in English. Topics: React 19, React Server Components, performance optimisation, state management, testing strategies, accessibility, design systems, micro-frontends, and AI integration [12]. In-person: €249.99 + VAT (early bird: €89.99 + VAT); includes lunch, coffee breaks, streaming, and recordings [13].
angularday 2026 (10th edition) — November 20
10th anniversary edition. Targets senior Angular developers [14]. Topics: Angular Signals & Resource API, zoneless change detection, RxJS, AI integration, micro-frontends, CI/CD, and automated architecture validation [14]. Pricing identical to reactjsday: €249.99 + VAT (early bird: €89.99 + VAT) [15].
Scholarship programmes exist for both events for students and underrepresented groups [14].
Community & ongoing meetups
In-person tech meetup activity in Verona itself is sparse outside the GrUSP conferences [11]. The nearest active community is Azure Meetup Veneto [17] (269 members), based in Vicenza (~30 min from Verona), with occasional in-person Azure/cloud events and an active YouTube channel.
Practical notes
- Hotel San Marco (Via Baldassarre Longhena 42) is the de-facto GrUSP conference hotel; staying on-site eliminates commuting between sessions.
- DATE 2026 and the AgrifoodTech Hackathon both run the same week (Apr 16–22) — if you’re in Verona then, the city will be unusually busy.
- reactjsday (Nov 19) + angularday (Nov 20) is an obvious two-night trip; buy both early-bird tickets to pay ~€180 + VAT total instead of ~€500 + VAT at standard price [13] [15].