Nativity scenes in Italy: from Greccio to San Gregorio Armeno

The Italian nativity scene has a precise date of birth. On Christmas night in 1223 Francis of Assisi, back from the Holy Land, had a Nativity set up at Greccio, in the Rieti area, with real people and animals, helped by the local nobleman Giovanni Velita. The village reminded him of Bethlehem, and today the two towns are twinned. At the end of the thirteenth century Arnolfo di Cambio sculpted the statues of a Nativity for Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, and in the following centuries the nativity scene moved from churches into homes, with the great Neapolitan school turning it into a theatre of the people. This page lists where to see it at Christmas 2026-2027, distinguishing dates already published from those the organisers have not yet announced.

Naples: San Gregorio Armeno

The street of nativity scenes runs through the historic centre, between Via dei Tribunali and Spaccanapoli, a few steps from Piazza San Gaetano. The workshops work all year round and at Christmas the red huts of the Fiera dei Presepi are added. Here you buy terracotta shepherds, houses, fountains, miniature trades and the satirical figures of the people of the year.

The 2026 fair is open from 1 November, a date brought forward at the request of the artisans' association and accepted by the city council, and runs until 10 January 2027. Daily opening hours and the date of the lights switch-on are not yet published. Only products typical of Neapolitan Christmas may be sold at the stalls: no mass-produced imported goods and no fried-food stands. Among the novelties, shepherds dedicated to the America's Cup, which will be in Naples from 22 May to 19 July 2027. Daily opening hours have not been published.

Practical tip: the street is narrow, so go in the morning on a weekday; at weekends and over the Immaculate Conception long weekend (5-8 December) there are far more people. On the same trip you can fit in the museum below.

The Cuciniello nativity scene at San Martino

The Certosa e Museo di San Martino, in the Vomero district, houses Italy's main public collection of Neapolitan nativity scenes. The Cuciniello nativity scene was donated to the State by the collector Michele Cuciniello, who put together about eight hundred shepherds, animals and accessories; inaugurated in 1879, it uses lighting to simulate the alternation of dawn, day, dusk and night. The museum is open from 08:30 to 18:30 (last entry 17:30), the nativity section from 09:30, closed on Tuesdays. Full ticket 6 euros, reduced 2 euros for ages 18 to 25, free under 18.

Living nativities

A living nativity is a performance with costumed extras, ancient trades and animals, in a village or a cave. The dates of the 2026-27 editions are largely not yet announced. In the table you will find the dates of the latest edition and how to get information.

Greccio is where it all began. Besides the living nativity there are the Museo dei Presepi, with works from all over Italy, and the Christmas market in the village. The 2026-27 programme is not yet published: ask the Pro Loco (tel. 0746 753 883) or see prolocogreccio.com.

Custonaci sets the Nativity in the Grotta Mangiapane, a cave inhabited until the mid-twentieth century in the Scurati district. Entry to the cave is open outside the season too (1 November-8 December from 10:00 to 16:00, ticket office closes half an hour earlier) and parking is free. Dates and prices for the 42nd edition are on the online ticket office, reachable from grottamangiapane.it.

Matera brings the nativity scene to the Sassi: the fifteenth edition, in 2025-26, ran over five weekends between 5 December and 4 January; for the new edition the dates are not yet published. Tickets are bought online from presepematera.it; groups of more than 25 people write to the secretariat.

Equi Terme, in Tuscan Lunigiana, has staged a living nativity since 1986. You get there on the A15 motorway, Aulla exit, and the SS 63, or by the Aulla-Lucca train to the Equi Terme stop; parking is free. Rivisondoli stages the birth on 5 January, since 1951, on the Piana di Piè Lucente; on 8 December the Madonnina is chosen: information is on presepeviventerivisondoli.it. Genga, in the Frasassi Gorge, is run by the Amici del Presepe (site: presepedigenga.it, being updated: 2026-27 dates and price are not yet published). For all of them, book in advance: places are limited.

Artistic nativity scenes, by the sea and on the water

Manarola hosts one of the largest illuminated nativity scenes in Italy, created by Mario Andreoli: in 2025, 64th edition, it covered about 4,000 square metres of terraced hillsides, with over 250 figures and 7 km of electric cable. It was lit on 7 December at 17:20, after a torchlight procession by the CAI, and remained visible every evening from sunset to 22:00 until 18 January 2026. The 2026-27 dates are not yet announced. You view it from the forecourt of the church of San Lorenzo and from the paths towards Riomaggiore; on 7 December 2025 two extra trains were run on the Genoa-La Spezia line and the Via dell'Amore, reopened, was free.

Cesenatico stages the Presepe della Marineria: figures on ten historic boats of the Museo della Marineria, in the Porto Canale. 2026-27 edition: lights on 29 November, open until 10 January 2027, free entry, Via Giordano Bruno 4.

Cervia has two nativity scenes linked to salt: a life-size Nativity of Cervia salt along the Porto Canale (statues about 1.70 m tall, with three salt pyramids in the water; 2024 edition, the new one is not yet announced) and the nativity scenes of the MUSA, the salt museum at Via Nazario Sauro 24, open in 2025-26 from 6 December to 6 January, every day 14:30-19:00, with a museum ticket of 2 euros (1 euro for ages 13 to 18, free up to 12).

At San Benedetto del Tronto, on the Molo Sud, there is the underwater nativity scene: since 2011 a marble group by the sculptor Giuseppe Straccia has stood in the harbour basin, near the Museo d'Arte sul Mare. The FAI entry warns that the work is in poor condition, so find out before making the trip for it.

1. Naples, San Gregorio Armeno: fair 1 Nov-10 Jan
2. Naples, Certosa di San Martino: Cuciniello nativity scene
3. Greccio, Sanctuary: living nativity, 2026-27 dates not yet published
4. Custonaci, Grotta Mangiapane: living nativity
5. Matera, Sassi: living nativity, booking
6. Equi Terme: living nativity
7. Rivisondoli: living nativity, 5 January
8. Genga, Frasassi Gorge: living nativity
9. Manarola: illuminated nativity scene
10. Cesenatico, Porto Canale: 29 Nov-10 Jan
11. Cervia, MUSA: salt nativity scenes
12. San Benedetto del Tronto, Molo Sud: underwater nativity scene

How to plan a tour

Naples and Cesenatico have dates already published (Naples is already open); living nativities must be booked and depend on the weather. A two-day itinerary in Naples can combine San Gregorio Armeno in the morning, San Martino in the early afternoon and Salerno's Christmas lights in the evening. For Christmas in the big cities see Christmas in the big cities, and for the list of markets the page on Christmas markets.