The Christmas table, region by region
What Italians eat on Christmas Eve and on 25 December in 20 regions, how much panettone and pandoro cost, and which food fairs fall between November and December 2026.
In Italy the Christmas meal is organised over two days with different rules. Christmas Eve (the 24th) is a meatless day: in the Catholic tradition no meat is eaten, and in the South and in Lazio the menu is built on fish, salt cod, eel and fried vegetables. The lunch on the 25th is instead the meal of meat and filled pasta: in the North pasta in broth (tortellini, cappelletti, casoncelli) with capon, in the Centre lamb or roast meat, in the South ragù and lamb. Each region then has its own sweets, which you will find in the table next to the dishes.
Christmas lunch remains a domestic affair. According to the Coldiretti/Ixè survey on Christmas 2025, 91% of Italians ate at home (44%) or with relatives and friends (47%), with an average of 8 guests; only 9% chose a restaurant or agriturismo. The expected average spend was 116 euros per household (+7% on 2024, 124 euros in the Centre, 103 in the North West), 46% of households made the sweets at home, and those who cook spent an average of 2.8 hours at the stove. For 2026 no similar estimate exists yet.
Christmas Eve and 25 December: the two tables
- Meatless Christmas Eve: in Lazio mixed fried vegetables, fried salt cod and eel; in Campania spaghetti with clams and insalata di rinforzo (cauliflower, olives, capers, anchovies); in Puglia salt cod stewed or fried, turnip tops and grilled eel; in Basilicata boiled salt cod with peperoni cruschi; in Molise baccalà arracanato or baked; in Calabria stockfish alla ghiotta; in Sicily pasta with sardines and sarde a beccafico.
- Lunch on the 25th: boiled or stuffed capon in Lombardy, Piedmont, the Veneto, Tuscany and the Marche; roast abbacchio (milk-fed lamb) with potatoes and cappelletti in broth in Lazio; mixed boiled meats with sauces (cren in the Veneto, bagnet in Piedmont); roast lamb in Abruzzo, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily.
- Santo Stefano (26th): tradition calls for leftovers: the remaining boiled meat becomes meatballs or filling, and the pasta in broth is served again.
Dishes and sweets in 20 regions
The table follows the most widespread traditions: within each region the variations change from province to province (and from family to family), but these are dishes you will find on the menus of local restaurants over the Christmas days.
| Region | Dishes | Sweets |
|---|---|---|
| Valle d'Aosta | mocetta on crostini with honey, lardo with chestnuts, crostini with fonduta and truffle, zuppa alla Valpellinentze, carbonata with polenta | pears in syrup, tegole, caffè mandolà |
| Piedmont | capon of Morozzo, boiled meats of Carrù and Moncalvo, carne cruda all'albese, bagna cauda, agnolotti al plin, tajarin | torrone d'Alba, hazelnut cake with zabaione, red apple mousse |
| Lombardy | capon consommé, tortellini or casoncelli in broth, stuffed capon, stecchini | panettone, Pan di Toni |
| Liguria | ravioli alla genovese, maccheroni in broth, cappon magro, boiled capon, fried stecchi, guinea fowl with artichokes | pandolce, candied fruit, torrone |
| Trentino-Alto Adige | canederli, strangolapreti, roast roe deer or kid with potatoes | strudel, zelten |
| Veneto | capon broth, radicchio risotto, gnocchi with duck sauce, polenta and salt cod, boiled meats with cren | pandoro of Verona, mandorlato of Cologna Veneta, mostarda with mascarpone |
| Friuli Venezia Giulia | brovada and muset, polenta with tripe, capon | gubana |
| Emilia-Romagna | tortellini in broth, tagliatelle al ragù, lasagne, passatelli, cotechino di Modena, zampone with lentils, culatello di Zibello | panone di Natale of Bologna |
| Tuscany | chicken liver crostini, capon broth or cappelletti in broth, roast guinea fowl, duck, stuffed capon | cavallucci, ricciarelli |
| Umbria | cappelletti filled with capon and pigeon, Umbrian cardoons, boiled capon | panpepato, pinoccate, torciglione |
| Marche | maccheroncini di Campofilone, cappelletti in broth, vincisgrassi, roast capon | pizza de Nata', fristingo |
| Lazio | Christmas Eve: mixed fry, fried salt cod, eel; 25th: cappelletti in broth, abbacchio, boiled meats, stuffed turkey | pampepato, pangiallo |
| Abruzzo | cardoon soup, chestnut and chickpea soup, lasagna, roast lamb, boiled meats | calcionetti, ferratelle, ostie ripiene, scrippelle |
| Molise | cardoon soup, pizza di Franz in broth, baccalà arracanato or baked | calciuni |
| Campania | minestra maritata, spaghetti with clams, stuffed capon, insalata di rinforzo, broccoli with garlic and chilli | struffoli, roccocò, dried fruit and nuts |
| Puglia | turnip tops, panzerotti, grilled eel, salt cod stewed or fried, baked lamb | pettole, cartellate, torrone, porcedduzzi, almond pastries |
| Basilicata | escarole, savoy cabbage and cardoon soup, salt cod with peperoni cruschi, strascinati al ragù, piccilatiedd | calzoncelli, pettole |
| Calabria | anchovy crespelle, scillatelle with pork ragù, minestra maritata, baked kid, stocco alla ghiotta | fichi a crocetta, torroncini, citron and bergamot sweets |
| Sicily | sfincione, scacce ragusane, pasta with sardines, sarde a beccafico, caponata, baked lamb | buccellati of Enna, cassate, cannoli, mustazzoli, cubbàita |
| Sardinia | culurgiones de casu, gnocchetti with sausage sauce, lamb with potatoes, porcetto with myrtle | ricotta with honey, seadas with honey |
The sweets that matter
- Panettone (Milan): a leavened cake with raisins and candied fruit, the best-selling Christmas sweet across Italy. The artisan version costs far more than the industrial one (prices in the table below).
- Pandoro (Verona): leavened without fruit, shaped like an eight-pointed star, served dusted with icing sugar.
- Torrone: in Cremona it is the signature product (a festival dedicated to it in November, see below), in Piedmont there is the one from Alba with hazelnuts, and in Puglia and Liguria it appears in the lists of Christmas sweets.
- Struffoli (Naples): little balls of fried dough bound with honey, with candied fruit and coloured sprinkles. They are made in the days before Christmas.
- Cartellate and pettole (Puglia and Basilicata): cartellate are ribbons of dough fried and then dipped in vincotto or honey; pettole are fritters of leavened dough fried over the holidays.
- Buccellato (Sicily): a ring cake filled with dried figs, nuts, spices and candied fruit; in Enna buccellati are among the typical Christmas sweets.
- Pampepato, panpepato and pangiallo (Lazio and Umbria): dense breads full of dried fruit, honey and spices, which keep for weeks.
- Seadas (Sardinia): fried pastry with fresh cheese and honey; on the Sardinian festive menu it appears alongside ricotta with honey.
How much panettone and pandoro cost
For Christmas 2026 no complete price survey has been published yet. The latest verified data are from 2025:
| Product | 2025 price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarket panettone (Altroconsumo ranking) | from 5.49 to 6.49 euros per kg; Coop Classico about 6 euros per kg, Eurospin about 4.66 euros per kg | Altroconsumo, via Scatti di Gusto |
| Artisan panettone, the cheapest of those tested | about 32 euros | Altroconsumo |
| Artisan panettone, the best product in the test | about 46 euros (Iginio Massari) | Altroconsumo |
| Artisan panettone from well-known pastry shops | 38-45 euros (Bolzani 40, Tiri 43, Casa Manfredi 42, Alimento 45) | Dissapore, 16 November 2025 |
| Artisan pandoro | about 35 euros; the most expensive cited was 54 euros for 1 kg (Macellaro) | Dissapore |
Artisan panettone has on average passed 40 euros (about 30 in 2020); among the causes Dissapore points to egg yolk, whose price per kilo has doubled. The weight of each piece varies: always compare the price per kilo, not the price of the single panettone.
Where to buy
- Artisan pastry shops: order by the first half of November, as the best products sell out. Some offer pre-ordering at a lower price: in 2025 The Rag asked 40 euros for pre-orders and 45 at full price.
- Supermarkets: the Altroconsumo ranking shows that the best panettoni cost little (about 6 euros per kg), but the verdict of the 160 consumers on the panel (in Bolzano, Bologna and Matera) was only "sufficient" for all twelve.
- Markets and fairs: for cured meats, cheeses, torroni and regional sweets the local fair is the best choice (see the calendar below); many producers also ship.
Food fairs and festivals, November-December 2026
The Festa del Torrone in Cremona is confirmed by the organisers' website. The dates of the Piedmontese fairs, and those of Milan, Trento and Bergamo, follow the annual calendars of the sagre (they fall on the same days or the same weekend every year); the final programme is published by municipalities and Pro loco close to the event.
| Date 2026 | Event | Where | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7-22 November | Festa del Torrone | [[t_cremona | Cremona]] | stalls every day 9:00-20:00 in the old town; giant torrone constructions, Torrone d'Oro, re-enactment of the Visconti-Sforza wedding; website [[https://www.festadeltorrone.com | festadeltorrone.com]] |
| 10 October to 6 December | International White Truffle Fair | [[t_alba | Alba]] | last weekends of November and early December | |
| 2 December | Fiera del Bue Grasso | Moncalvo (AT) | Piedmontese boiled meats | ||
| 4-8 December | Fiera fredda, national Piedmontese snail fair | Borgo San Dalmazzo (CN) | |||
| 5-6 December | National White Truffle Fair | San Damiano d'Asti | |||
| 5-8 December | Fiera degli Oh Bej! Oh Bej! | [[t_milano | Milan]] | piazza Castello, viale Gadio, piazza del Cannone, 8:30-21:00 | |
| 8 December | Regional Fiera del Bue Grasso | Montechiaro d'Acqui (AL) | |||
| 11-14 December | National Capon Fair | Morozzo (CN) | another capon fair on 13 December at San Damiano d'Asti | ||
| 12-13 December | Fiera di Santa Lucia | [[t_trento | Trento]] and [[t_bergamo | Bergamo]] | in Trento food stalls and the lighting of the tree in piazza Duomo; in Bergamo between the Sentierone and piazza Matteotti |
| 12-13 December | Frittelle di Santa Lucia | Valli Mirandolesi (MO) | a sweet with raisins | ||
| 17 December | National Fiera del Bue Grasso | Carrù (CN) | the best-known fair for Piedmontese boiled meats |
Santa Lucia (13 December) is a festival of the North, where she brings gifts to children; in Trento on the evening of the 12th children leave a letter for the saint. For Christmas 2026 in Milan the piazza Duomo market (over 60 chalets) runs from 1 December to 6 January, every day from 9:00 to 21:00.
- Cremona: Festa del Torrone, 7-22 November
- Alba: White truffle, until 6 December
- Carrù: Fiera del Bue Grasso, 17 December
- Morozzo: Capon Fair, 11-14 December
- Milan: Oh Bej! Oh Bej!, 5-8 December
- Bergamo: Fiera di Santa Lucia, 12-13 December
- Trento: Fiera di Santa Lucia, 12-13 December
- Modena: Zampone and cotechino for New Year
For New Year the rule is single: lentils, cotechino or zampone at midnight, for luck with money. Cotechino and zampone di Modena are PGI products; details on the 31 December traditions in New Year in Italy.
Good to know
- When to book: artisan panettoni and capon by mid-November; restaurants for the lunch on the 25th by early December, because many offer a single fixed menu.
- How much to spend: in 2025 the expected average spend for lunch at home was 116 euros per household; an artisan panettone costs 40-45 euros, a supermarket one about 6.
- What to taste where: torrone in Cremona, boiled meats and capon in Piedmont, struffoli in Naples, cartellate in Puglia, buccellato in Sicily, panone in Bologna. Order the regional dish, not the international one.
- Shop opening hours: many food shops close on the afternoon of the 24th and on the 25th and 26th of December; see the calendar for opening days of shops, transport and museums.
- Allergies and labels: panettone and pandoro contain eggs, gluten and milk; always ask for the list of ingredients in artisan products.
- If you travel at Christmas: Christmas Eve is the right evening for a fish restaurant; on the 25th at lunchtime many places are closed or on a fixed menu. More tips in planning your trip and Christmas in the big cities.