Maglie Incanta

Maglie Incanta: the widespread Christmas in the heart of Salento

Maglie Incanta is the event that lights up the Christmas season in Maglie, an elegant town in the province of Lecce, in the heart of Salento and Puglia. For about four weeks, from late autumn until Christmas Eve, the historic center with its baroque palaces and Lecce stone churches turns into a large open-air stage, where lights, music, shows, and tradition intertwine along the streets and squares.

A program of shows and street arts

The program is built around street performers and contemporary circus: comic magic shows, fire-eating and fakir performances, circus acts, street bands, and dance moments follow one another in the central squares. The beating heart of the events is Piazza Aldo Moro — the city's main drawing room, dedicated to the famous Maglie statesman — along with Via San Giuseppe, Via Trani, and Piazza Bachelet. There is no shortage of choirs, Christmas concerts, and performances by local school students, which enliven city auditoriums, churches, and theaters.

Markets, ice skating rink, and Santa's Village

Alongside the shows, the event offers Christmas markets with displays of local crafts and hobbies, an ice skating rink set up for the entire holiday period, and Santa's Village, designed especially for the little ones. Between light installations, chestnuts, hot chocolate, and cotton candy offered to the public, Maglie Incanta is an appointment designed for families and those who want to experience the festive atmosphere while strolling through the streets of the village.

An identity-defining event for the Maglie community

Promoted by the Associazione Festa San Nicola Maglie with the collaboration of local artists and companies, the festival is now an identity-defining appointment in the winter calendar of the Municipality of Maglie. The chosen slogan, "the Christmas that embraces, thrills, and unites," summarizes the spirit of the event: a widespread Christmas that involves schools, parishes, merchants, and associations, restoring a shared festive atmosphere to the city.