Epiphany events in Italy 2026 bring a lovely, old‑world buzz across the country, as communities lean into parades, regattas and bonfires. It’s a gentle, family‑centred finale to the festive season.
Epiphany 2026 in Italy: key events and dates
This year, Epiphany in Italy falls on Tuesday, 6th January. It’s a nationwide public holiday, so schools and public offices close, and many independent shops take the day off. January sales tend to kick off in the first half of the month, so expect busier centres once the daytime parades wrap up.
Major Epiphany events in Italy 2026
The biggest spectacles stick to familiar formats each year, even if exact times shift a little.
Rome: market and city celebrations
Epiphany 2026 in Rome carries a family tone, with the Piazza Navona market providing a last flourish of lights, toys and sweet stalls. Often said to have the best Christmas market in Italy, the city also features a traditional parade that brings figures of the Magi through the historic centre.
Milan: Corteo dei Re Magi
The Corteo dei Re Magi 2026, or Three Wise Men Parade, traces a colourful line from the Duomo to the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio. It features historical costumes, banners and music, and is a great chance to admire some of Italy's best Christmas lights as you go. A stage is set up at the end of the parade so that the three kings can give out gifts.
Florence: Cavalcata dei Magi
Florence’s Cavalcata dei Magi revives a 15th‑century pageant and is led by the Three Kings on horseback in silk costumes. It usually sets off from Piazza Pitti and winds to Piazza Duomo. Around 700 participants close with the laying of gifts at the live nativity and the traditional scoppio della colubrina ceremony.
Venice: Regata delle Befane
The Regata delle Befane 2026 is one of the best Christmas traditions in Italy, not to be missed. The event puts veteran gondoliers in Befana costumes and sends them racing on the Grand Canal. The start is near San Tomà with a finish by Rialto, and the bridges offer the best sightlines.
Urbania, Marche: Festa dell Befana
Urbania’s Festa della Befana, running from 4th to 6th January this year, shot to national prominence in 1997. The town turns into a winter wonderland, with over 4,000 stockings strung through the historic centre, decorated porticoes and lights. Also expect markets, music, shows and plenty of street entertainment.
Verona: Brusa la Vecia bonfire
Verona’s Brusa la Vecia is a fire‑lit farewell to the old year, with a towering bonfire and a lively crowd in Piazza Bra. An enormous wooden witch effigy is lit in the evening. Traditionally, people read the direction and thickness of the smoke to guess the year’s fortunes, from fair weather to a good harvest.
Cervia and the Romagna Riviera: beach bonfires
Epiphany bonfires along the Romagna coast are a long‑standing custom, known locally as focarine or falò della Befana. Cervia sets the mood around the canal, while Milano Marittima and Pinarella light up stretches of beach by the pinewoods. Further down the coast, Cesenatico’s canal makes a handsome backdrop, with Rimini’s marina and Riccione’s Piazzale Roma hosting concerts, mulled drinks and children’s activities by the sea.
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