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Festive Holidays in Rome
A Magical Holiday Season and a Spectacular New Year's Eve
This year, experience a peaceful and contemplative holiday season—free from crowds of tourists, hustle, and bustle. A festively decorated city invites you to enjoy cultural experiences centered around Christmas, savor culinary delights featuring seasonal specialties, and engage in quiet reflection in numerous churches and spiritual sites.
Highlights for a personalized Christmas and New Year's Eve itinerary
Christmas at the Vatican
December 24: Festive Christmas Masses in many churches
- e.g., at the German parish of Santa Maria dell'Anima, starting at 10 p.m.
December 25: Papal "Urbi et Orbi" blessing in St. Peter's Square
Holy Masses for the Solemnity in the churches, usually beginning at 10:00 a.m.
The Angelus prayer is held every Sunday in St. Peter's Square, including on December 8 and 26
No reservations required; free admission
Traditional Christmas Dinners on December 25
There is a wide selection of pasta dishes and the restaurant's specialties
lamb or rabbit in Roman cuisine. To finish, the traditional
Christmas treats like panettone or pandoro, along with coffee, grappa, and liqueur.
Around the holidays
The Christmas season begins in Rome on December 8 and lasts until January 6. During this time, the streets of Rome are festively decorated and illuminated—especially Via del Corso, Via Babuino, Via Frattina, and Via Condotti, the city’s major boulevards and shopping streets.
Piazza Navona - Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli - Nativity Scene Exhibition
In addition to many smaller traditional Christmas markets, the most famous and quintessentially "Roman" one is the Mercatino della Befana in Piazza Navona, which is open until January 6. In Italy, gifts are not given until Epiphany by the "Befana." In the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, a famous wooden sculpture, the Bambino Gesù, is displayed in the nativity scene throughout the Christmas season, and children bring their wish lists there. Nativity scenes are set up in all churches and cathedrals; also worth seeing is the large exhibition “100 Presepi,” featuring over 130 nativity scenes from around the world.
New Year's Eve at the Vatican
December 31. Te Deum at St. Peter's Basilica -
Blessing of the Nativity Scene in St. Peter's Square by the Pope
January 1, 2022 - 12:00 p.m. Angelus Prayer -
1.1. Solemn New Year's Mass at St. Peter's Basilica
Tickets available through our office
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day
The best place to watch the fireworks is from a hill in the city,
either the Gianicolo or the Pincio.
The city's hotels and restaurants offer multi-course New Year's Eve menus. Many of the nightclubs and discos host New Year's Eve parties on New Year's Eve.
Events for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day
Mega-concert at the Circus Maximus – numerous events in the Old Town
and the outskirts of Rome
1.1. Bridge jumping from the Cavour Bridge into the Tiber
City tours and walking tours in Rome and the Vatican
We create custom designs
On New Year's Day, most museums and tourist attractions are closed. St. Peter's Basilica, however, is open all day and free to visit.
Subject to change without notice – as of November 2021
Please contact us for customized travel packages!
We offer a wide range of trips tailored to your customers' needs. We will plan a program for you based on your preferences. Subject to availability, we offer accommodations in our own hotels Residenza San Paolo VI or Palazzo Cardinal Cesi right on St. Peter’s Square, or in one of our many partner hotels or guesthouses.
Please contact us. We would be happy to advise you personally.
You can reach us Mon. – Fri. from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Phone: +39 06 68899501 - 0668899502
