Il Capodanno italiano (Italian New Year's Eve) is simultaneously the most universally celebrated Italian holiday (every Italian city, every small town, and every agriturismo participates in some form) and the most regionally specific (the Neapolitan Capodanno (the loudest, most pyrotechnic, most food-intense) is the diametric opposite of the Alto Adige Capodanno (the Tyrolean log-fire, the Glühwein, and the midnight church bell across the snow-covered valley)). This guide covers the complete Italian Capodanno landscape from the national superstitions to the city-specific programs.
How do you want to see it?
Campania, ItalyCompare the same experience on GetYourGuide and Viator, save what you like to My Trip, share it, and book when you’re sure. Nearest to this page first.
Italian New Year: Traditions, Superstitions, and the City Guide
The National Traditions
The lenticchie e cotechino (the lens-shaped lentils symbolizing coins + the pork sausage symbolizing the pig's good fortune): the most universally Italian Capodanno food tradition. The specific regional variations: the Emilia-Romagna version (the cotechino di Modena IGP or the zampone di Modena IGP (the pig's trotter stuffed with the same cotechino mixture, the more theatrical of the two Modenese New Year proteins)). The Veneto version (the same lentils with the local soppressa di Vicenza (the coarse-grain pork salami) or the galeto al vin (the chicken braised in local white wine)). And the Calabrian version (the specific fave e 'nduja (the broad beans with the Calabrian spicy spreadable sausage) that substitutes the northern lentil-and-pork combination with a specifically southern Italian protein-and-legume format). The red underwear superstition (la biancheria rossa, the specific Italian New Year superstition that wearing red underwear on December 31 brings love and luck in the coming year): the most widely practiced single Italian Capodanno superstition (the Italian clothing stores stock the specific red underwear range from December 26 onward, the red underwear sellout is a documented Italian December retail phenomenon). The throwing superstition (the specific old Neapolitan tradition of throwing old objects out of the window at midnight, the literal discarding of the old year's bad luck, the specific Naples Capodanno safety warning: the Neapolitan custom of throwing old objects (the piatti rotti (broken plates), the vecchi mobili (old furniture), and occasionally the electrical appliances) from balconies at midnight creates the specific Naples Capodanno street-walking safety risk that the visitor should manage by staying under a building overhang or in a covered area during the 23:55-00:05 window).
The City Guide. All 6 Major Capodanno Cities
Rome (Circo Massimo free concert, 300,000 persons, Gianicolo best fireworks viewpoint, see the dedicated Rome Capodanno guide). Venice (Piazza San Marco, 50,000 persons, fireworks banned, most expensive accommodation night of the year, see the dedicated Venice Capodanno guide). Naples (Piazza del Plebiscito free concert, private botti from every balcony, midnight pizza, most chaotic and most specifically Italian, see the dedicated Naples Capodanno guide). Florence (Piazza della Signoria program, the specific Florence Capodanno program (the Piazza della Signoria concert (the smaller scale (20,000-40,000 persons) versus Rome and Naples) with the specific midnight fireworks from Piazzale Michelangelo (the most dramatically positioned single Florence fireworks launch point)): the most elegant and the most manageable single major Italian Capodanno for the visitor who wants the Italian New Year experience without the Rome crowd or the Naples chaos. Milan (Piazza del Duomo program, the specific Milan Capodanno (Piazza del Duomo midnight countdown with the specific Duomo illumination, the Gothic spires lit by the coordinated LED program (the same technology as the Milano Design Week light installation) creates the most architecturally dramatic single Italian New Year backdrop after Venice)). Bologna (the most specifically local single Italian Capodanno, the Bologna Capodanno is organized around the specific Piazza Maggiore and Piazza Nettuno midnight program with the highest ratio of actual Bologna residents to tourists of any Italian major-city Capodanno).
Q&A: Capodanno Italy
What Italian superstitions should I know for New Year?
The complete Italian Capodanno superstition list: the lenticchie (eating lentils = money in the new year, the lens shape of the lentil symbolizes the coin (the specific Italian popular etymology: lenticchia → lente (the lens) → moneta lenticolare (the coin))): universal Italian. The biancheria rossa (red underwear = love and luck): universal, more practiced by women than men. The gettare l'acqua (throwing a bucket of water out the window at midnight = washing away the old year's bad luck): Sicilian tradition. The uva (eating 12 grapes at midnight, one per bell stroke = one wish per month of the new year): Italian adaptation of the Spanish tradition (the uva di Capodanno, the most recently imported single Italian Capodanno tradition, adopted from the Spanish grapes-at-midnight custom in approximately the 1990s-2000s). The melograno (pomegranate seeds in the New Year meal = prosperity (the pomegranate seeds' abundance symbolizing financial abundance)): central and southern Italian tradition. The champagne/prosecco (the brindisi, the midnight toast): universal, with the specific Italian preference for the Franciacorta DOCG (the Italian equivalent of Champagne) in the north and the Prosecco di Valdobbiadene DOCG in the Veneto.
