Christmas Atmospheres - Events Under the Tree

The city-wide Christmas of Giugliano

Christmas Atmospheres - Events Under the Tree is the Christmas festival organized by the Municipality of Giugliano in Campania, the third-largest city in the Campania region and one of the most populous in the metropolitan area of Naples. It is not a single event, but a widespread program that, throughout the holiday season, spreads markets, concerts, workshops, and installations across the squares of the historic center and the hamlets of the Domitian coast. The lighting of the decorations officially opens the calendar and marks the start of weeks of nearly daily appointments.

The Christmas markets

The commercial heart of the festival is the Christmas markets set up in the city's two main squares, Piazza Gramsci and Piazza Matteotti. The wooden chalets remain open all day, offering an assortment typical of Campanian markets: artisanal crafts, tree and nativity scene decorations, festive sweets, local gastronomic products, and gift ideas from local businesses. The experience is designed for evening strolls under the lights, with stalls integrated into the program of performances held just a few meters away.

Themed villages and ice skating rink

The family-oriented section is one of the most curated parts of the program. In the gardens of the I Circolo Didattico, next to Piazza Gramsci, an ice skating rink is set up for most of the month, while themed villages for children take place simultaneously: the Harry Potter village, the Grinch village, and, on the coastal side, Candyland, the candy village. Each installation offers entertainment, creative workshops, and costumed characters, with opening hours in the morning and late afternoon.

Music, theater, and comedy in Piazza Matteotti

The main stage is in Piazza Matteotti, which in recent editions has hosted well-known names from the Neapolitan and national scene: singer-songwriters, traditional folk groups, comedy duos, and theatrical troupes. Alongside the major free open-air concerts, the program extends to indoor venues, with recitals in historic churches, gospel concerts, children's shows in parish theaters, and performances by local music academies and schools. The finale is traditionally entrusted to the Christmas Eve toast, the New Year's Eve celebrations, and the Epiphany events.

A program uniting the center and the coast

• Artisan markets in Piazza Gramsci and Piazza Matteotti
• Ice skating rink in the gardens of the I Circolo Didattico
• Themed villages for children in the center and coastal hamlets
• Free open-air concerts in Piazza Matteotti
• Recitals, gospel, and theatrical shows in city churches and theaters
• Nativity scenes, educational workshops, and charity initiatives

The decision to bring events to Varcaturo and the coastal strip reflects the unique layout of Giugliano, a vast territory where the population is distributed between the urban core and numerous hamlets: Christmas thus becomes an opportunity to bridge the center and the maritime periphery within a single program.

Why it's worth a visit

Compared to the more tourist-heavy markets in Campania, the Giugliano festival retains a distinctly local character: it is the Christmas that the residents truly experience, among stalls, lights, and bustling evening squares. For those visiting the area north of Naples, it is also a great excuse to discover the city's historic center, just a few kilometers from the Liternum excavations and the Domitian coast, and to combine the visit with other Christmas stops in the Neapolitan province, starting with San Gregorio Armeno.