Christmas in Italy 2026: markets, presepi and the festive season

The season, date by date

• 8 December — Immacolata Concezione. A national public holiday, and the day the season formally starts: trees go up, nativity scenes are set out, markets are open.
• 13 December — Santa Lucia. Not a national holiday, but in parts of the north and north-east (Verona, Brescia, Bergamo, Trento, Udine) it is Lucia, not Father Christmas, who brings the presents.
• 24 December — La Vigilia. Christmas Eve dinner, traditionally fish rather than meat, and the reason restaurants are booked out weeks ahead.
• 25 December — Natale. National public holiday. Almost everything closes.
• 26 December — Santo Stefano. Also a national public holiday, but a much more open one: many museums, restaurants and attractions run normally.
• 31 December — San Silvestro, then Capodanno on 1 January, another national public holiday.
• 6 January — Epifania. National public holiday, the Befana, and the end of the season.

The Alpine markets: Trentino and South Tyrol

South Tyrol (Alto Adige / Südtirol) is officially bilingual and its Christmas markets read that way — German-language traditions running under Italian administration, with signage, food and carols in both. Bolzano holds its market on Piazza Walther in front of the cathedral. Merano sets its stalls along the promenade beside the Passer river, which gives it the prettiest setting of the group. Bressanone and Brunico run their own, smaller versions. Just south, in Trentino, Trento spreads a market across the squares of its historic centre.

What is on sale is consistent across all of them: wooden decorations, felt and glass, local speciality food, and a lot of mulled wine — vin brulé on the Italian side of the menu, Glühwein on the German. Expect strudel, Zelten fruit bread and speck rather than anything you would find at a market in Naples.

Opening dates are set fresh by each organiser every year, generally somewhere in the second half of November through to around Epiphany. This guide deliberately does not give them — confirm on the market's own site before you book travel around a specific weekend.

• Bolzano
• Merano
• Trento

The presepe: the tradition the rest of Italy runs on

The presepe is the nativity scene, and in most of Italy it matters more than the tree. Tradition traces the first one to Greccio in Lazio in the thirteenth century, and the form has been expanding ever since — from a manger and a few figures to elaborate constructions with running water, working lights and dozens of side characters who have nothing to do with the nativity at all.

Naples is where it became an art form. The workshops along Via San Gregorio Armeno in the old centre make and sell presepe figures year-round, and in December the street becomes almost impassable. Elsewhere, villages across the country stage presepi viventi — living nativities, with residents in costume across a whole hillside or old quarter — and churches in every city put out scenes worth walking in to see.

In Rome, the Vatican sets a tree and a large nativity scene in St Peter's Square for the season, and the churches of the historic centre each put out their own.

• Naples
• Rome

Christmas in the big cities

What is actually open over the holidays

• 25 December and 1 January: most shops, museums and public offices close. Restaurants that do open are booked out — reserve rather than turn up.
• 26 December (Santo Stefano): far more open than the day before. Many museums and attractions run normal or holiday hours.
• 8 December: a full public holiday, but shops in city centres and tourist areas usually trade, and the markets are open.
• Public transport runs holiday timetables on all of the above, which in practice means a Sunday service or thinner.
• Museums commonly close one day a week on top of the holidays — most often Monday. Check the individual museum, not a general rule.

• Public holidays in Italy, and what closes

FAQ

Where are the best Christmas markets in Italy?

The Alpine north: Bolzano and Merano in South Tyrol and Trento in Trentino run the largest and most established markets, with Bressanone and Brunico as smaller alternatives. They are closer in style to Austrian and Bavarian markets than to anything in central or southern Italy.

When does the Christmas season start in Italy?

On 8 December, the Immacolata — a national public holiday and the traditional day for putting up the tree and the nativity scene. The Alpine markets generally open earlier, in the second half of November, but 8 December is when the country as a whole switches over.

When does Christmas end in Italy?

On 6 January, Epiphany. The Befana — an old woman on a broomstick — brings sweets or coal to children overnight, and the decorations come down afterwards. It is a national public holiday.

What is a presepe?

A nativity scene. In most of Italy it is the central Christmas decoration, more important than the tree, and it ranges from a small crib in a church to elaborate constructions with moving parts. Naples is the traditional centre of presepe craftsmanship, with a whole street of workshops in the old town.

Is anything open in Italy on Christmas Day?

Very little. Most shops, museums and offices close on 25 December, and transport runs a holiday timetable. Boxing Day, Santo Stefano on 26 December, is a public holiday too but a far more open one — many museums and restaurants operate normally.