Luci d'Artista and Christmas lights 2026-2027

Italian Christmas lights come in two families. On one side are the light exhibitions, with themed artworks or installations, a route to walk on foot and a precise calendar: Turin, Salerno, Gaeta. On the other are the city illuminations: the tree in the square, the lit-up streets and the projections on monuments, switched on in an early-December evening with a ceremony. The first group has already published the dates for the 2026-2027 edition. The second, as of 12 November 2026, mostly has not: for those you will find below the 2025 dates and a note of what the organisers have not yet published.

Turin: Luci d'Artista, the open-air exhibition

Turin invented the format: the first works were lit in 1998, and every winter since then the city has hosted installations by contemporary artists, hung across streets, bridges and façades. The 29th edition, curated by Antonio Grulli and produced by the Fondazione Torino Musei for the city, has the theme "Memories and future dreams" and includes 31 works, four of them new:

• Tony Oursler, Star(life): a projection on the façade of the Politecnico, at corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24. According to the official presentation, it is Oursler's first permanent public work in Italy.
• Flavio Favelli, Poetiche del confine: made from salvaged materials, including railings damaged by the bombings of the Second World War and kept in the collections of Palazzo Madama. It is at the Musei Reali (piazzetta Reale).
• Samson Young, Inversions: in the monumental courtyard of the OGR (corso Castelfidardo 22), with a projection by the same artist.
• CANEMORTO, The Radiant Van: a van with eighteen good-luck charms engraved on its sides and lit from inside. It is a mobile work in the Duet section, shown at Artissima from 30 October to 1 November.

Around the historic core there are two side sections: Costellazione, with the lights of partner institutions (among them the Museo del Novecento in Milan, the Reggia di Venaria and the Accademia Albertina), and Duet, the international collaborations. The inauguration took place on 23 October at 18:15. The official website Luci d'Artista Torino gives no daily switch-on time: the lights can be seen after sunset, and the digital map of the 29th edition can be downloaded from the same site.

A walking route through the centre

The historic works normally stay in the same spot from one year to the next, but some change. The table lists the historic locations of the works (2025 edition) and the official ones for the 2026 newcomers. Some works change location from year to year: the official 2026 map can be downloaded from the exhibition's website.

A sensible loop starts at piazza Palazzo di Città, continues along via Garibaldi (pedestrianised), climbs towards the Mole and comes down via Po to the bridge over the Po. The Monte dei Cappuccini is off the shortest walking route: it is an extra for those with time to spare. The Politecnico and the OGR lie to the west, near Porta Susa, and are easy to reach on foot from the station.

1. Piazza Palazzo di Città: Tappeto volante by Buren
2. Via Garibaldi: Noi by Stoisa
3. Mole Antonelliana: Il volo dei numeri by Merz
4. Via Po: Palomar by Paolini
5. Ponte Vittorio Emanuele I: Doppio passaggio by Kosuth
6. Monte dei Cappuccini: Piccoli spiriti blu by Horn
7. Politecnico: Star(life) by Oursler (new for 2026)
8. OGR Torino: Inversions by Young (new for 2026)

Salerno: Luci d'Artista, the busiest in the South

In Salerno the exhibition is a civic institution: the 2026-27 edition lights 31 main installations and 4 video mappings across the old town, the seafront and the eastern district. The inauguration is on Saturday 7 November at 17:30 in the Villa Comunale and, according to the council's Cultura Salerno portal, the lights stay on until 24 January 2027 (the portal's home page speaks only generically of "November-February"). Admission is free; along the route there are maps and information totems with QR codes, with descriptions and videos in Italian Sign Language (LIS).

The main stops:

• Villa Comunale: four illuminated fairy tales (Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk) and a luminous zoo. This is the stop for families.
• Corso Vittorio Emanuele: the installation I Cristalli.
• Piazza Flavio Gioia: jellyfish and sea creatures.
• Piazza Portanova: a Christmas tree over 20 metres tall with more than 72,000 LEDs.
• Behind the Teatro Pasolini: the terracotta warriors.
• Lungomare Trieste: glowing penguins.
• Video mapping on the façades of Palazzo Genovese, Palazzo Sant'Agostino, Teatro Verdi and Liceo Tasso.

The council does not publish switch-on or projection times: the stops and the map are on the Cultura Salerno portal. The weak point is the crowding: in past editions the organisers have spoken of over a million visitors, and at weekends the car parks fill up. For this reason Trenitalia, with the Campania Region and the city, has announced 19 extra services a day (about 10,000 additional seats) on some weekends, 7 and 8 December and 4, 5 and 6 January 2027, on the Salerno-Arechi (metro), Salerno-Napoli Campi Flegrei and Salerno-Caserta lines. To reach the platforms at Salerno station on peak days you need a ticket bought in advance. From Naples the train is the simplest option; the car is not worth it.

1. Villa Comunale: Illuminated fairy tales and zoo
2. Piazza Portanova: Tree over 20 metres tall
3. Teatro Verdi: Video mapping
4. Lungomare Trieste: Glowing penguins

Gaeta: Favole di Luce

In Gaeta the illuminations are called Favole di Luce ("Fairy Tales of Light") and wind through the La Piaja district, the old town, Gaeta Medievale and the lungomare Caboto. The official website luminariegaeta.it gives the 2026-27 dates as 7 November 2026 to 10 January 2027. On 7 November, at 16:00 in piazza XIX Maggio, the opening show CAIETA: Corpi di Luce was staged, directed by Mvula Sungani. The official website announces as new features a show at the San Francesco fountain and a video mapping.

The official website has not yet published admission, opening times or the little tourist train for the current edition. In 2024 admission to the route was free, and the "Trenino delle Luci" left from piazza XIX Maggio and ran on December weekends from 15:00 to 22:00. Information is available from the info points in piazza XIX Maggio, Villa delle Sirene and piazza della Libertà, or by email at favolediluce@comune.gaeta.lt.it and info@prolocogaeta.it.

By train the station is Formia-Gaeta, then a local bus or taxi. By car (A1, Cassino exit, then towards Formia and Gaeta) the car park indicated by the website is piazzale Avir; coaches can stop free of charge in dedicated areas but must book; camper vans have an area without services.

The lights in other cities

As of 12 November 2026 the official websites of these cities publish the 2026 programme only in part. The table gives the latest official data and the status of the current edition.

In Florence the project that in its early years was called F-Light (a light festival founded in 2016) has appeared since 2025 under the name Florence Lights Up: if you search online, use both. In Milan the piazza Duomo market (over 60 chalets) is announced from 1 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, from 9:00 to 21:00, and the Villaggio delle Meraviglie at the giardini Montanelli from 20 November to 10 January, from 10:00 to 21:00. For market events and opening hours see Christmas markets; for the overall programmes of the big cities see Christmas in the big cities.

1. Turin: Luci d'Artista, 23 October 2026 to 10 January 2027
2. Salerno: Luci d'Artista, 7 November 2026 to 24 January 2027
3. Gaeta: Favole di Luce, 7 November 2026 to 10 January 2027
4. Como: Città dei Balocchi, tree in piazza Duomo
5. Milan: Tree in piazza Duomo
6. Rome: Tree in piazza del Popolo and via del Corso
7. Florence: Video mapping on Ponte Vecchio and monuments
8. Genoa: Tree in piazza De Ferrari
9. Lecce: Piazza Sant'Oronzo

Photo tips

• Arrive at the blue hour: in the forty minutes after sunset the sky is still blue and the lights are already on, so the photo has contrast without burning out the LEDs. After 19:00 the sky is black and the light sources become blobs.
• Underexpose by one stop (compensation -1): the illuminations are the brightest parts of the scene and the phone tends to overexpose them.
• Look for a wet surface: paving after rain doubles the lights.
• Avoid Saturday evening if you want photos without people: a weekday or the first hour after switch-on is better.
• Steady support (a small tripod or a low wall) for the video mappings, which need long exposures.
• Battery: cold drains it quickly. Keep your phone in an inside pocket.