Christmas lights in Italy: the most beautiful to see in 2025

Christmas lights in Italy dress towns and villages for the festive season, bringing the holidays to life with colors and lights that enchant both adults and children. Only spectacular installations, with light shows and visual effects, can create that wonderful feeling we seek during the holidays, transforming streets, squares, houses, and even Christmas markets into dreamlike scenes.

The latest generation of lights and projectors, thanks to LEDs, makes the atmosphere even more unique and allows visitors to enjoy these digital art displays sustainably, combining beauty with eco-friendliness.

So, what are the best Christmas lights in Italy for 2025? We’ve selected 20 locations, one for each region, among cities and villages, where the Christmas lights create truly unforgettable atmospheres.

At Christmas, cities are dressed in light and joy, creating atmospheres that bring serenity and wonder. At the markets, the scent of mulled wine, fritters, and cinnamon blends with the glow of the lights, turning every corner into a unique experience to enjoy with the whole family.

Christmas lights in Italy are more than decorations: they are artistic installations, videomappings, light projects on buildings and monuments, and visual postcards that capture the magic of the season. Some cities switch on the lights early to enhance shopping, while others renew their displays with new surprises, making every visit a special occasion.

Amid colors, sounds, and lights, the holidays become moments to share, rediscover social connections, and let yourself be enchanted. But which are the most captivating displays, the ones you absolutely cannot miss in 2025? Here are 20 special suggestions to help you rediscover the magic of Christmas in every region of Italy!

In Pescara, Abruzzo, Christmas lights in Italy will be installed in the city center and in some streets of Porta Nuova, with the switch-on scheduled for the Black Friday weekend, Friday, November 28, 2025. The festive magic will fill the commercial streets, creating a welcoming atmosphere for residents and visitors, while the traditional Christmas tree in Piazza della Rinascita will be lit as usual on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, completing the city’s holiday decorations.

When: from Friday, November 28, 2025

In Potenza, Basilicata, the local administration has focused on installing decorative lights. The Christmas lights will be set up along Via Pretoria, Piazza Mario Pagano, Largo Pignatari, and other high-traffic areas, making Potenza’s streets and squares magical and atmospheric throughout the holiday season. The traditional switch-on will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2025, the feast day of Saint Nicholas.

When: from Saturday, December 6, 2025

This year again in Tropea, Calabria, the “Enchanted Village” will bring joy and entertainment to both tourists and locals during the upcoming Christmas holidays, featuring events such as a living nativity scene, Christmas markets, children’s activities, shows, and live music.

When: from December 6, 2025, to January 6, 2026

A riot of artistic light installations awaits you when Luci d'Artista returns to Salerno, Campania's most famous city. Salerno's illuminations have always attracted tourists from all over the south. Squares and streets are transformed into little worlds of light, often marine-themed, with flying whales and acrobatic dolphins. Salerno's Christmas lights were the first in Italy to cross city boundaries and also inhabit the sea with spectacular choreographies.

When: from 29 November 2025 to 15 January 2026

The city of Forlì, Emilia Romagna, will come alive with markets, video mapping and Christmas lights in Italy. The event called "Forlì che brilla” (Forlì that shines) also includes shows, traveling attractions, and a captivating route called “The gardens of light.”

When: from December 8, 2025

In Lignano Sabbiadoro, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Natale A... Mare with a wonderful and magic edition. In Piazza Fontana you will find a majestic Christmas tree, lights and Christmas music that will immerse you in the magical atmosphere of Christmas.

When: from 5 December 2025 to 11 January 2026

The sea of Gaeta, Lazio, shines at Christmas with the seventh edition of 'Favole di luce'. In our journey through the Christmas lights in Italy, let us not forget the small village on the Ulysses Riviera that comes alive during the festive season with poetic Christmas lights. You will find them installed from the coast to the medieval quarter.

When: from 9 November 2025 to 11 January 2026

In Chiavari, Liguria, the Christmas lights attract visitors every year thanks to installations spread across the town’s squares and central streets, with scenic decorations ranging from sleighs with reindeer to glowing stars, along with traditional elements in various districts, including Piazza N.S. dell’Orto, Piazza Roma, Piazzale La Franca, Sampierdicanne, and Piazza Matteotti.

When: 2025 schedule to be confirmed

In Monza, Lombardy, Christmas comes alive with festive lights and decorations along 38 streets of the city, including Viale Cesare Battisti and Piazza Duomo. The “Together for Christmas” project also features architectural videomapping on the Arengario, glowing stars among the trees, and a warm atmosphere with Christmas markets and music. 

When: from 28 November 2025 to 6 January 2026

In a village in the Marche region, at 17:30 and 18:30 all the electric lights are switched off for 15 minutes and only thousands of candles remain lit. If this is not magic... And it can only happen in a little village called Candelara, a village in the Pesaro area, located 7 km from the city centre on a hill overlooking the sea. In the village square there is a market where you can buy candles of all shapes and scents, as well as typical local products. Various forms of entertainment for children, acrobats, nativity scene, elf workshop.

When: 22, 23, 29 and 30 November and 6, 7, 8, 13 and 14 December 2025

A special event is approaching in Molise, and one of the most beautiful Christmas lights in Italy will be lit in Larino. The pre-sale of subscriptions for the event 'Larino illuminazione - la magia delle luci' has begun.

When: 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 20, 21 and 26 December 2025 and 1, 3, 4 and 6 January 2026

In Turin, Piedmont, the lights of the 25th edition of Luci d'Artista have come on: 25 luminous works are scattered around the city, both in the centre and in the more peripheral districts. It was born as a cultural event to celebrate the Christmas holidays and at the same time create a public collection of contemporary art installations, transforming the city into an open-air museum. All different, all to be discovered: they can also be admired on the panoramic bus, which takes you around the lights at sunset on Saturday and Sunday. An original way of exploring Turin, including its lesser-known parts.

When: from 1 November 2025 to 6 January 2026

Polignano a Mare, Apulia, transforms into a wonderful Christmas village, immersed in a sea of lights and magical reflections. 

When: from early December 2025 to Epiphany 2026

In Quartu Sant’Elena, Sardinia, the Christmas lights bring a charming atmosphere to the holiday season, illuminating the streets until dawn. The installations, placed throughout the town’s most characteristic spots, create a glowing path that stays lit for the entire festive period, adding an extra touch of magic to Christmas time.

When: from December 8, 2025, to January 6, 2026

Catania, Sicily, at the foot of Mount Etna, also has a magical atmosphere with the Christmas tree in Piazza Università and lights in Via Etnea, Piazza Università and Via Garibaldi. This year, more kilometres of Christmas lights will be illuminated in the city's shopping streets than in previous years. Christmas lights in Italy will shine in four areas of the city, come and visit them.

When: from 6 December 2025 to 6 January 2026

The next stop is now in Tuscany: head to Arezzo, the city of Christmas, just over an hour’s drive from Florence, to admire the light installations decorating Piazza Grande and the city’s most important monuments. Spectacular mapping and traditional lights created for the event connect every street in the historic centre, bringing Christmas light to the whole city and offering a new interpretation of the architecture, alleys and squares.

When: from 15 November 2025 to 6 January 2026

On our Christmas Light Tour 2025, we recommend a stop in Bressanone, South Tyrol. At the Hofburg, the OOPS – Light & Music Show 2025 takes the stage with evening performances of lights and music, featuring the adventures of a little character and a colorful hummingbird, symbol of love and peace. In Piazza Duomo, the show “Liora – The Tale of the Stars” lights up the square every evening during the Christmas market. 

When: from November 21, 2025, to January 6, 2026

Over the Christmas period, Castiglione del Lago, Umbria, becomes a real Christmas town with original shows and attractions designed to entertain and excite young and old. The lights on Lake Trasimeno include an illuminated Christmas tree built into the water, Father Christmas's village, an immersive multimedia tour of the medieval fortress, an entrance to the frescoed rooms of the Palazzo della Corgna, an ice rink, and a Christmas market.

When: 6 December 2025 to 6 January 2026

A great festival of lights called Lumières de Noël au Fort de Bard - Christmas Lights at the Fort Bard, Aosta Valley, takes place. The theme of the projections is Naturae Maiestas: the Piazza d'Armi of the fortress is immersed in a sparkling and surreal atmosphere to celebrate the mountain and the animals that inhabit it. A fantastically dreamy mountain reinterpreted thanks to the magic of special video mapping effects projected onto the facades of the square.

When: from 7 December 2025 to 6 January 2026

Have you ever seen the illuminated Christmas Tree in St Mark's Square in Venice, Veneto? During the Christmas festivities, the lagoon city is even more poetic and romantic, with lights illuminating St Mark's Square, the Procuratie Vecchie and Nuove, and along Calle XXII Marzo to Campo Santa Maria del Giglio and the Rialto Bridge. Visit the Christmas lights in Italy in this magical town with a romantic atmosphere. Lights, garlands and decorated trees welcome the most awaited event of the year!

When: 22 November 2025 to 6 January 2026