Piedigrotta Festival (Madonna di Piedigrotta)

Piedigrotta 2025: the Madonna returns to the sea after 25 years

From September 1st to October 17th, 2025, Naples experienced a particularly intense Piedigrotta Festival, with a widespread calendar of celebrations, music, and folk events in the city's neighborhoods and parishes, supported by the Campania Region and Scabec, under the artistic direction of Benedetto Casillo.

The heart of the event was Sunday, September 14th: at 10:30 AM, the children's parade with traditional paper dresses started from Piazza del Plebiscito; at 6:00 PM, the solemn Holy Mass at the church of Santa Lucia a Mare, presided over by Cardinal Mimmo Battaglia; at 7:30 PM, the grand procession with the boarding of the Madonna's statue and the evocative crossing of the Gulf of Naples to Mergellina, renewed after twenty-five years, arriving at the historic church of Santa Maria di Piedigrotta.

In the preceding days, from September 1st to 4th, workshops for creating paper dresses were held in the district streets, while musical performances along the route were entrusted to the young musicians of «Canta, Suona e Cammina», with marches and classic Neapolitan tracks. Admission to all events was free.

2025 program (main elements): • September 1-4, 2025 — workshops for creating paper dresses in the district streets, at the church of Santa Maria di Piedigrotta. • Friday, September 4, 2025, 7:00 PM — show «Jamm a Piererotta». • Sunday, September 14, 2025 — peak day: 10:30 AM parade of paper dresses from Piazza del Plebiscito; 6:00 PM solemn Holy Mass at the church of Santa Lucia a Mare presided over by Cardinal Mimmo Battaglia; 7:30 PM procession with boarding of the Madonna's statue and crossing of the gulf to Mergellina, arriving at the church of Santa Maria di Piedigrotta. • Until October 17, 2025 — liturgical celebrations in Neapolitan parishes, 7:00 PM, with musical performances by the youth of «Canta, Suona e Cammina».

• The crossing of the gulf with the statue of the Madonna, returning by sea after 25 years. • The parade of paper dresses from Piazza del Plebiscito. • The solemn Holy Mass by Cardinal Mimmo Battaglia at Santa Lucia a Mare. • The marches of the «Canta, Suona e Cammina» youth bands.