Christmas Festivities at the Pastena Caves

A Christmas inside and outside the mountain

The Christmas Festivities at the Pastena Caves have become a staple of the winter calendar in the municipality of Pastena, in the province of Frosinone, in the heart of the Ciociaria region and the Lazio region. For about a month, from December 8th until Epiphany, the square and the auditorium leading to the karst complex become the stage for a widespread celebration, designed for families and those who want to discover the area even in the cold season.

The setting is what makes this event unique: the Pastena Caves are among the largest visitable speleological complexes in Italy, a network of galleries, small lakes, and concretions carved by water into the limestone rock of the Ausoni Mountains. Visiting the underground chambers and then returning to the bright lights and the scent of typical products is an experience that combines nature, geology, and popular tradition.

Who organizes it

The event is curated and organized by LAZIOcrea, the in-house company of the Lazio Region that manages the regional spaces of the Pastena Caves, the Pozzo d'Antullo in Collepardo, and the Charterhouse of Trisulti. The Christmas program is conceived as a single calendar spread across these three sites: those staying in the area can build a true multi-day itinerary, moving from Pastena to Collepardo along just a few kilometers of scenic roads.

The stages of the festival

• December 8th — Opening day with the lighting of the illuminations and the Christmas tree in the Caves square; from the early afternoon, games, Christmas stories, and activities for families in the auditorium.
• Markets and food and wine trail — Along the road leading up to the Caves, there are artisan stalls and local producers' stands, featuring sweets, cheeses, oil, and Ciociaria specialties.
• An elf at the Caves — Outdoor activities, storytelling, and creative workshops dedicated to the little ones.
• Bagpipe Festival — A day of traditional music with zampogna and ciaramella players, the sonic heart of Christmas in the central Apennines.
• Dances and accordion — An afternoon dedicated to folk dances and the peasant traditions of southern Lazio.
• The Befana at the Caves — On January 6th, the Befana arrives with stockings for the children, bringing the festivities to a close.

Why it's worth the trip

Unlike large urban markets, the Christmas at the Pastena Caves retains a village-like dimension: events are free until capacity is reached, the atmosphere is intimate, and the protagonist remains the local community, which participates with its associations, the band, the pro loco, and the producers. It is an opportunity to hear the zampogna live, an instrument that has accompanied the novena in these valleys for centuries, and to discover a Lazio hinterland often ignored by mass tourism.

The village and its surroundings

Pastena is a perched medieval village that dominates the Sacco valley, with its spiral historic center and still-visible walls. Within a few kilometers, you can find the Pozzo d'Antullo, a huge karst sinkhole unique in Europe for its size, the Charterhouse of Trisulti immersed in the woods of Collepardo, and the villages of Falvaterra and Castro dei Volsci. Those arriving for the holidays can therefore combine a visit to the events with a day of excursions among caves, abbeys, and Apennine landscapes.

An event for all ages

The program is built expressly for a family audience: manual workshops, animated readings, theatrical performances on the Nativity, concerts, and bingo games alternate throughout the holidays. Even visitors who do not participate in the events can still book a guided tour of the tourist route of the Caves, which remains one of the main attractions during the holidays.