Oplonti and the Magic of Christmas

A widespread Christmas in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius

Oplonti and the Magic of Christmas is the festive program of the Municipality of Torre Annunziata, located in the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the heart of the Vesuvius area of Campania. This is not a single event concentrated in one square, but a widespread program: initiatives are distributed across neighborhoods, churches, squares, and shopping streets, from the weekend of the Immaculate Conception until Epiphany. The name evokes Oplontis, the ancient Roman settlement where the city preserves the famous Villa of Poppea, a UNESCO World Heritage site alongside Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The program stems from a clear choice by the municipal administration: to support local commerce while simultaneously giving citizens a community-focused Christmas. The four pillars declared by the organizers are culture, tradition, solidarity, and shopping.

Santa's Villages

The most popular heart of the program is the Santa's villages, set up in different parts of the city to avoid concentrating everything in one neighborhood. The first, the Candy Christmas Village, is inaugurated on December 8th in Piazza Ernesto Cesaro, the "living room" square overlooking the main street; in the following days, other villages open, designed to animate the suburbs and districts. Wooden huts, workshops for children, the sleigh, reindeer, and meeting Santa Claus are the classic ingredients, highly popular with local families.

Lights on the churches: video mapping

The visual signature of the event is the scenic video mapping illumination projected onto the facades of four iconic churches in Torre Annunziata: Santa Teresa, SS. Trinità, Sant'Alfonso, and the Basilica della Madonna della Neve. The projections remain active throughout the Christmas period, turning a simple evening stroll into a small itinerary of light among the city's churches. In the cloister of Palazzo Criscuolo, the seat of the Town Hall, the city's large Christmas tree is set up.

The living nativity scene in the Supportico

Among the most anticipated events is the living nativity scene set up in Via Supportico, the historic alley next to the Basilica della Madonna della Neve, which for two evenings transforms into a popular Bethlehem, with costumed actors, ancient crafts, and Nativity scenes. This is accompanied by the nativity exhibition curated by the Amici del Presepe association, one of the longest-running in the area: in 2025 it reached its 53rd edition, a testament to how deeply rooted the Neapolitan nativity tradition is in Torre Annunziata.

Music in churches and squares

The program includes a series of concerts hosted in the city's parishes: an artistic journey deliberately distributed to bring live music even to the less central neighborhoods. In December 2025, the Basilica della Madonna della Neve also hosted a stop of the DiVino Jazz Festival, a free festival spread across seven Vesuvius municipalities.

Markets, shopping, and attractions

The municipal program is complemented by initiatives from merchants and the Maximall Pompeii shopping center on the outskirts of the city, where a market village with wooden huts, an ice skating rink, and a Ferris wheel with views of the Gulf of Naples, Mount Vesuvius, and the archaeological area are set up during the same period. There is also the Slow Food Earth Market and cultural initiatives by the ArcheoClub dedicated to rediscovering local heritage.

Why visit

• An authentic, neighborhood-focused Christmas, far from the major tourist showcases.
• The opportunity to combine a visit to the Oplontis Excavations (Villa of Poppea) with an evening among lights and nativity scenes.
• Excellent logistics: Torre Annunziata is just minutes from Pompeii, Castellammare di Stabia, and Torre del Greco.
• Most initiatives have free admission.