Italy in December 2026: La Scala's Otello, Christmas in Rome and the Best Markets

At 6pm on Monday 7 December 2026, Myung-Whun Chung will lift his baton in the pit of La Scala and Verdi's Otello will open the Milan season, in the same theatre where the opera premiered in 1887. Every seat for that night is sold out. That doesn't matter much: half of Milan will watch it for free, on a giant screen under the glass dome of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

That is Italy in December in a nutshell. The big events are real, crowded and occasionally impossible to get into, but there is always a way in for anyone who shows up. Add a long weekend for the Immaculate Conception, nativity workshops in Naples, Alpine Christmas markets and the last weeks of the white truffle season in Alba, and you have one of the best months to visit the country, as long as you plan the dates.

7 December: La Scala opens with Otello

The Prima della Scala is the most important night in Italian opera, and in 2026 it carries extra weight: it is Myung-Whun Chung's debut as La Scala's music director, with a new production by Damiano Michieletto. The cast for the opening run features Brian Jagde as Otello, Luca Salsi as Iago and Eleonora Buratto as Desdemona. The theatre has already said the title role will not be performed in blackface.

What you need to know if you are in Milan:

• Opening night (7 Dec, 6pm): sold out on the theatre's website.
• Other dates: 10, 13, 16, 19, 22 and 29 December, plus 2 and 5 January 2027. In mid-October the 22 and 29 December and the January dates still had tickets, while several earlier nights showed "last seats". From 29 December the cast changes (Arsen Soghomonyan, Roberto Frontali and Roberta Mantegna).
• Under 30 preview: 4 December, for young audiences only.
• On TV: Rai 1 broadcasts live from 5:45pm, Radio3 carries the audio and RaiPlay keeps it on demand for 15 days.
• In the city: according to La Scala's press release, the Rai signal goes to around 40 venues across Milan as part of Prima Diffusa, and a big screen in the Ottagono of the Galleria shows the premiere to the public. The full Prima Diffusa programme (talks, concerts, screening venues) had not been published by mid-October; in 2025 it ran for about ten days before the premiere.

Arrive at the Ottagono early. The Galleria fills up fast, and the 7th is also the day Milan celebrates its patron saint.

Sant'Ambrogio and the Oh Bej! Oh Bej! fair

7 December is the feast of Saint Ambrose, a local holiday in Milan: schools and many offices close, and the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio holds its patronal celebrations. Around it runs the city's oldest fair, Oh Bej! Oh Bej!, whose name comes from the Milanese dialect cry of children seeing the stalls ("oh, how beautiful!"). It sets up around the Castello Sforzesco with roasted chestnuts, mulled wine, antiques and handicrafts.

• Dates: the 2025 edition ran from 5 to 8 December. The 2026 dates had not been announced by mid-October; expect the same days around the 7th.
• Where: Piazza Castello and the streets around the Castello Sforzesco.

While you are in the centre, look up at the Duomo. Almost six centuries of construction, 135 spires and a roof you can walk on: with the Christmas tree lit in the piazza, it is the best photo in Milan. If you want the backstory while you walk around it, Trevurs has a free audio tour, "Milan Cathedral: 600 Years of Marble and Obsession", that explains how a Gothic cathedral took six centuries to finish. Pair it with "Milan: Leonardo, The Last Supper and the Duke Who Lost Everything", but book the Last Supper weeks in advance: tickets for Santa Maria delle Grazie disappear quickly in December.

8 December: the Immaculate Conception long weekend

8 December is a national holiday, and in 2026 it falls on a Tuesday. Many Italians will take Monday off and make a four-day "ponte" from Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8. Expect full trains, higher hotel prices and busy museums that weekend, and book high-speed trains as early as you can.

The 8th is also the traditional day when Italian families put up the Christmas tree and the nativity scene, so from that week on, the whole country switches into Christmas mode. In Rome, the Pope traditionally pays homage to the Virgin at the Column of the Immaculate Conception in Piazza di Spagna on the afternoon of the 8th.

Christmas in Rome: Piazza Navona, Trevi and St Peter's

Rome's best-known Christmas market fills Piazza Navona with stalls, a carousel and figures of the Befana, the witch who brings sweets (or coal) to Italian children on 6 January. In 2025 it ran from 1 December to 6 January; the 2026 dates had not been confirmed by mid-October, but the pattern is consistent. Entry is free.

Under your feet is the real story: the piazza keeps the exact shape of the Stadium of Domitian, built in the first century AD for athletic games. Trevurs' tour "Piazza Navona: the hidden stadium beneath you" walks you through it, and "Trevi: the ritual behind the fountain" picks up the story ten minutes away, at the fountain where everyone throws a coin over their shoulder.

At St Peter's Square, the Vatican sets up a giant Christmas tree and a life-size nativity scene, each donated by a different Italian region or diocese every year. Donors for 2026 had not been announced by mid-October. In 2025 the tree was a 25-metre spruce from the Val d'Ultimo in South Tyrol and the nativity came from the diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno; both stayed up until 11 January.

Christmas at the Vatican (with a caveat)

Midnight Mass on 24 December and the Urbi et Orbi blessing at noon on the 25th are the two big moments. Tickets for papal Masses are free but must be requested from the Prefecture of the Papal Household well in advance.

One important caveat for 2026: Pope Leo XIV underwent lung surgery for cancer on 13 October 2026, and his December schedule depends on his recovery. Check official Vatican announcements before planning your trip around a papal event. We will publish a separate, detailed guide to Christmas at the Vatican. Meanwhile, the Trevurs tour "The Vatican: How the Church Built the Smallest and Most Powerful State on Earth" explains how a country of less than half a square kilometre ended up with so much influence.

Naples: the nativity street

In Naples, Christmas starts in Via San Gregorio Armeno, a narrow street in the historic centre lined with workshops that make presepi, the hand-crafted Neapolitan nativity scenes. The artisans work all year, but in November and December the street is packed shoulder to shoulder. Alongside shepherds and angels, you'll find figurines of footballers, politicians and celebrities from the year's headlines.

• Tip: go early on a weekday morning. On December weekends the street can barely move.
• Nearby: Spaccanapoli and the underground city are a few minutes' walk away. Trevurs' tour "Naples: Vesuvius, Pizza and the City Underground" connects all three.

The Alpine markets: Bolzano, Merano and Trento

If you want the Northern European Christmas market experience without leaving Italy, go to South Tyrol. According to the schedules published so far, the markets of Bolzano (Piazza Walther), Merano (along the Passirio promenade) and Bressanone open on Thursday 26 November 2026 and close on 6 January 2027. Trento's market in Piazza Fiera usually opens in late November; its 2026 dates were still to be confirmed.

• Getting there: Bolzano and Trento are on the Brenner railway line from Verona; Merano is a short regional train ride from Bolzano.

Alba: the last weekends of white truffle

The 96th International White Truffle Fair of Alba runs from 10 October to 6 December 2026, according to the official website. The truffle market opens on weekends, so the first weekend of December is your last chance. Alba is about an hour from Turin; spend a day in the city before or after. Trevurs' "Turin: the City That Made Italy, Kept the Shroud and Built FIAT" tells the story of the city that was Italy's first capital.

Florence at Christmas

Florence trades its summer crowds for a calmer December. The German-style Christmas market in Piazza Santa Croce is the main seasonal event; it usually runs from mid-November to around 20 December, but the 2026 dates had not been officially confirmed by mid-October. Trevurs' "Florence: Dante and the City He Sent to Hell" follows the poet through the streets where he lived before his exile.

Practical tips for December

• 25 and 26 December are both holidays (Christmas and Santo Stefano). Many museums close on the 25th; the Vatican Museums usually close on both days.
• Book trains early for 4 to 8 December and 23 to 27 December.
• Pack layers: Milan and the Alps get cold and foggy, Rome and Naples are milder but rainy.

Explore Italy with Trevurs

December in Italy is a month of short days and long walks between lights, markets and monuments you've seen a hundred times in photos. Trevurs gives you the story behind them in free audio tours created by locals: the Duomo before the Prima, Piazza Navona between market stalls, the Vatican before Christmas Mass, Naples before you lose yourself in San Gregorio Armeno. Download the app before you fly and keep the tours offline for the days when the crowds make it hard to hear anything else.