Hanukkah at Piazza Barberini (lighting of the Jewish candelabrum)

A tradition illuminating the center of Rome

For nearly forty years, as December arrives, Piazza Barberini transforms: next to Bernini's Triton Fountain, a large menorah—the nine-branched candelabrum of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah—is installed. The initiative is promoted in Rome by the international Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which during the same week lights public candelabra in hundreds of cities worldwide, from London to New York, and from Moscow to Melbourne. In December 2025, the Roman event reached its 37th edition, cementing its place as one of the most recognizable religious and civic events in the Capital's winter calendar.

What is celebrated

Hanukkah commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over Hellenistic persecution in ancient Judea and the subsequent rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been profaned by pagans. According to tradition, the remaining oil—enough for only one day—miraculously lasted for eight days: hence the eight days of the festival and the eight lights that are lit progressively, one more each evening, using the ninth central candle, the shammash. It is a domestic festival that in Rome, as elsewhere, moves outdoors to become a public event: for the light to be a sign, it must be seen.

How the lighting takes place

The ritual is repeated every evening for eight consecutive days, with times following the Jewish calendar: the lighting at Piazza Barberini is traditionally set for 6:00 PM, moved earlier in the afternoon on the day preceding Shabbat, and shifted to the evening after sunset at the end of the Sabbath. The main evening, which sees the highest attendance, usually falls on the first Sunday of the festival: this is when the square is most crowded and institutional guests speak. The 2025 edition featured, alongside Rabbi Yitzhak Hazan, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Rome, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, the US Ambassador, a representative of the Israeli Embassy in Italy, the president of the UCEI Noemi Di Segni, and the president of the Jewish Community of Rome, Victor Fadlun.

A festive atmosphere, open to all

Around the lighting, the square becomes a space for popular celebration for a few hours: live music, songs and dances by children from the city's Jewish schools, distribution of traditional holiday treats—sufganiot (fried doughnuts) and potato latkes—and small gifts for the little ones. Participation is free and open to everyone, not just the Jewish community: passing tourists and Romans returning from work gladly stop in front of the illuminated candelabrum.

Jewish Rome, a two-thousand-year-old context

The event is part of a particularly long history: that of Rome, home to the oldest Jewish community in Europe, present in the city continuously for over twenty centuries. Those attending the lighting at Piazza Barberini can easily complete their day by heading down toward the Ghetto, between the Portico d'Ottavia and the Great Synagogue, where during Hanukkah, shop windows and bakeries offer traditional holiday sweets. On the final evening, Roman tradition also includes a closing ceremony in the area of the Colosseum, a place of strong symbolic value for Jewish history.

Why it is worth attending

• A short, intense, and visually memorable ceremony in one of Rome's most beautiful Baroque squares.
• A free, open-air event suitable for families with children.
• The opportunity to discover a millennial tradition explained in simple terms.
• A chance to combine the visit with the Barberini-Tridente district, between Via Veneto, Palazzo Barberini, and the Trevi Fountain.

Piazza Barberini is located in the Municipio I of Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Lazio region: a central point, served by the metro and just a few minutes' walk from the main sights of the historic center.