Night of the Candles

A village lit by one hundred thousand flames

The Night of the Candles is one of the most evocative events of the Lazio summer. Every last Saturday of August, the Municipality of Vallerano, a village in the Cimini Mountains in the province of Viterbo, switches off the streetlights in its historic center to rely on the flickering glow of over 100,000 candles. Alleys, stairways, courtyards, and squares turn into a dreamlike landscape, where every corner becomes a stage set curated by the local residents themselves.

The origins: from the Piccole Serenate Notturne

The event began in 2006 as a creative evolution of a candlelight concert organized as part of the summer festival Piccole Serenate Notturne, a musical series that has enlivened Vallerano for over twenty years. The Night of the Candles is now its flagship closing event: from a simple musical evening, it has grown into a nationally recognized attraction, drawing approximately 20,000 visitors in a single night in past editions.

A new theme every year

Each edition is built around a theme that guides the installations, shows, and scenery: over the years, the village has transformed into the Kingdom of Ice and Flowers (2017), the Kingdom of the Abyss (2018), and has celebrated Mother Earth (2023), the world of fairy tales with «Once Upon a Time» (2024), and the magic of cinema with «Lights, Camera, Action!» (2025). The 2026 edition, the 19th, is dedicated to «The Wonderful Four Seasons»: a symbolic journey through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, filled with emotion, memory, and discovery.

What to expect during the night

From sunset until late at night, the historic center comes alive with a widespread program:

• concerts and musical performances by local and international artists;
• theater, storytelling, and itinerant performances;
• dance and street art in squares and courtyards;
• art installations, projections, and visual displays;
• food stalls featuring typical Tuscia gastronomy;
• the traditional midnight pizzicata, the most anticipated moment of the evening.

Actors and narrators guide visitors along a multisensory itinerary designed to engage all the senses, while residents open their cellars and courtyards, transforming them into small theaters of light.

Vallerano and the Tuscia region

Vallerano is a medieval village of just over 2,500 inhabitants nestled on the slopes of the Cimini Mountains, in the heart of the Tuscia region—a land of chestnut and hazelnut groves between Viterbo and the Tiber Valley. The Night of the Candles has become the symbol of the village's identity and a driver for promoting the entire Lazio region: a successful example of how an entire community can turn its historic center into a collective work of art.

Organization

The event is conceived and organized by the Notte delle Candele Association of Vallerano, with artistic direction by Maurizio Gregori, in collaboration with the Municipality of Vallerano and the direct involvement of citizens, who spend weeks preparing the decorations for their neighborhoods.