Naples Events and Festivals 2014 / 2015

(Naples, Campania, Italy)

Campania offers a number of annual festivals, public holidays and cultural events to entertain its plentiful visitors, starting with Chamber Music at the Teatro delle Palme off the Via dei Mille, on the south-western side of central Naples.

Music lovers will find plenty of further concerts staged all through the year at venues such as the Royal Palace, the San Carlo Opera House (Teatro di San Carlo), the Teatro Mercadante, the Teatro Trianon and the Teatro Mediterraneo, the latter of which is located at the Overseas Fair Grounds.

Further things to do in Naples include various religious festivals, summer parades and ceremonial feasts, with many local events being centred around the Piazza Plebiscito, which serves as the city's biggest public venue and regularly plays host to live music, processions and rallies, as well as New Year's Eve fireworks. The Piazza Plebiscito is to be found alongside the Royal Palace, while additional open-air events take place at the Communal Gardens.

National Public Holidays

• 1st January - New Year's Day
• 6th January - Epiphany
• Early April - Easter Monday
• 25th April - Liberation Day and St. Mark's Feast Day
• 1st May - Labour Day
• 29th June - Local Feast Day
• 15th August - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• 1st November - All Saints Day
• 8th December - Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• 24th December - Christmas Eve
• 25th December - Christmas Day
• 26th December - Boxing Day / St. Stephen's Day

Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• New Year's Day - festivities throughout the city
• Magi's Festival - 6th January, re-enactment of the Magi's visit to Bethlehem, Lizzano (Tàranto)
• Festa d'o'Cippo Sant'Antonio - 17th January, procession for the protection of animals, with bonfires and games at Novoli, Lecce
• Chamber Music - January to April, at the Teatro delle Palme in the Chaia district of Naples
• Operas - January to mid-July, at the San Carlo Opera House in Naples

February

• Carnival - Italy's longest carnival, beginning on the 16th December in Putignano (Bari), the Carnevale Duomo at Manfredonia lasts four weeks

April

• Holy Week Celebrations - with a strong Spanish flavour, these celebrations feature many processions with floats, with the most impressive at Tàranto. On Good Friday there is a torch-lit procession at Nemoli (within the province of Potenza), and an omelette feast at Easter
• Orthodox Easter Albanian Celebrations - held at Lungro, Calabria

May

• International Music Festival - late May, this large music fest is held in the city
• Illustration Show - 3rd week in May, interesting comic strip and illustration show in Naples
• Parade of the Turks - 28th and 29th of May, this parade is held at San Gerardo in Potenza
• Weekend Events - throughout May there are many events that are held during the weekends

June

• La Scamaciata - 2nd June, costume parade and general festivities in Fasano, Brindisi
• Music Festival - early June to mid-July, this popular music fest is held in Ravello
• Sant'Andrea - 27th June, with fireworks, costumes and spectacular processions in nearby Amalfi

July

• Madonna della Bruna - 2nd July, religious procession at Matera, with an enormous float that gets torn to pieces at the end of the day
• Madonna del Carmine - 16th July, in Piazza del Carmine, culminating in a fireworks display
• Feast of St. Anne - 26th July, a torch-lit procession in Ischia, with hundreds of boats being transformed into floats to honour the island's patron saint
• Feast of St. Pantaleone - 27th July, held at Ravello, this is one of the most extravagant fireworks displays in the region

August

• Feast of San Nicola Pellegrino - 6th to 8th August, this waterfront festival is held at Trani in Bari
• Madonna della Madia - 14th to 16th August, this water fiesta celebrates the icon of the Madonna, at Monopoli in Bari
• Wheat Festival (Foglianise) - 15th August, includes a procession of tractors and a pageant in the evening, held at Benevento
• Sea Procession - 22nd August, with fireworks at Porto Cesareo in Lecce

September

• Napolipizzafest - early September, pizza-makers gather around the Piazzale Tecchio to sell their tasty, freshly cooked wares
• Neapolitan Song Contest - beginning of September, this contest at Piedigrotta in Naples includes fireworks
• Feast of San Gennaro - 19th September, celebration of the saint in Naples
• Handicrafts Show - late-September, held at Fóggia

November

• Feast of San Trifone - 10th November, cavalcade of children dressed as angels riding horses, at Adelfia in Bari

December

• Christmas Fairs - throughout December, Yuletide fairs sell decorations and festive gifts around the region. Thousands of elaborate nativity scenes are erected all over Naples at this time of the year
• Immaculate Conception Celebrations - 8th December, sausage and polenta festival at San Bartolomeo in Galdo
• Presepi - 24th December, midnight mass and tableaux at Grottaglie in Tàranto and Nardò in Lecce
• New Year's Eve - December 31st, masses are celebrated in churches and traditionally, broken crockery is tossed from balconies. There are also many parties and general celebrations to welcome in the New Year

Nightlife in Naples

For concerts, shows and other cultural events, Naples always has plenty to offer. The best information on programmes and times can be found in the local newspapers, in particular 'Il Mattino' and also in the free monthly guide 'Qui Napoli'. The Neapolis Rock Festival attracts many top international acts and is held in midsummer. Located to the west of Naples, near to the beach at Arenile di Bagnoli, this lively event is very popular.