Celebrating Christmas 2025 in the Eternal City.
The Christmas season in Rome is a particularly festive experience thanks to street lights, rich traditions and Nativity scenes in churches around the Italian capital.
Rome’s Christmas tree is in Piazza del Popolo once again this year, away from its traditional base at Piazza Venezia where major works are underway for the new Metro C subway station.
The tree was illuminated on 8 December, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, when the Christmas lights were switched on along the central Via del Corso.
In the Vatican, a giant Christmas tree and Nativity scene in St Peter’s Square was inaugurated on 15 December.
Christmas mangers and Nativity scenes can be seen in churches throughout the capital including the international crib exhibition 100 Presepi under the colonnade in St Peter’s Square.
Rome has plenty of Christmas markets over the festive period, including in Piazza Navona, as well as Christmas World in Villa Borghese, with carousels, ice-skating rinks and plenty of fun for kids.
There are numerous Christmas church services in English while for the programme of Pope Leo, including his Urbi et Orbi blessing on Christmas Day, consult the Vatican website.
It wouldn’t be Christmas in Rome without Tchaikovsky’s mesmerising ballet, The Nutcracker, staged at the city’s opera house from 17-31 December.
The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia offers a busy calendar of classical music concerts in the run-up to Christmas, as does the Roma Gospel Festival at the Auditorium Parco della Musica.
The capital’s public transport services usually follow a reduced timetable on Christmas Day, while those planning to dine in Rome restaurants over the festive period are advised to book well in advance.
