Events

Upcoming Events in (and near) Naples

The following events are coming up in the next few months:

Recurring Yearly Events

    • early May - Camposano Palio - similar to the bigger Siena palio, this crazy medieval (sometimes Roman?) donkey race takes place near Nola. (2009's palio is 2-3 May.)
    • May - Maggio dei Monumenti; a number of normally closed buildings (palaces, etc.) are open to the public, and many museums and monuments are free.
    • Varies - Carnevale is just before lent, featuring parties and lasagne.
    • June - Nola Gigli Festival (Torneo dei Gigli) - a huge tower carried throughout the town
    • 16 July - "Burning" of Santa Maria della Carmine campanile (bell tower)
    • late July - Neapolis rock/pop festival
    • early Aug - Campi Flegrei Sea Festival - concerts and food in Monte di Procida.
    • 15 Aug - "Ferragosto", the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the heart of the Italian vacation season as well as a time for various celebrations (Pozzuoli pole climbing, Positano Saracen invader re-enactment, Monte di Procida weeklong party and statue procession, etc.)
    • 19 Sept - Festa di San Gennaro / Feast of San Gennaro; famous "liquification of blood" in the Duomo (Cathedral) and various events throughout Naples and Pozzuoli. Procession starts in the Cathedral at 9:00 and continues until the blood liquifies. There are also a smaller celebrations where his blood liquifies on December 16th (commemorating the day his relics allegedly stopped Vesuvius from destroying Naples) and the first Sunday in May.
    • Sept - Piedigrotta Festival - celebrates the Madonna of Piedigrotta; lots of concerts with Neapolitan songs, typically they will open up the Crypta Neapolitana (ancient Roman tunnel under Posillipo that connected Piedigrotta with Fuorigrotta, after which both neighborhoods were named) for tours.
    • mid-Sept (in 2009 it's 9/10-9/20) - Pizzafest - learn how it's made and try lots of pizzas, plus concerts and other fun stuff, at Mostra d'Oltremare

Websites for Events

The following websites can help you learn about events in Naples:

    • Napoli Unplugged - Bonnie Alberts keeps this great site up to date with lots of local events
    • Naples Panorama - Lou Freed, a writer who lives in Pozzuoli, often contributes articles about events going on in and near Naples.
    • inCampania - a flash website run by the Campania tourist bureau listing events throughout the region; also includes PDF guides to each province (under "Itineraries" at the top)
    • Eventiesagre - a website detailing events throughout Italy; click on Campania for events near Naples.
    • Campania Region Agricultural Council - lists upcoming food-related festivals around the region
    • Napoli Comune Calendar - offers PDFs detailing events by category (sports, music, food, etc....in Italian)
    • Karen Phillips' AndiamoTrips - fun events around Naples, especially involving wine
    • Caserta News and Napoli.com - two newspapers which report on events near Naples (in Italian)
    • Ciro Biondi's Blog - discusses events and news in the Pozzuoli area (in Italian); some official events in Pozzuoli are posted at pozzuolionline. Napolimotus and InfoNapoli Newsletter are similar for Naples. Also check out Napoli Today.
    • Zero Napoli - a small guidebook/website that features concerts and nightlife events.
    • CampaniaTour - a website that exhaustively lists festivals and events throughout Campania (in Italian) --> note: as of late 2009, CampaniaTour has become less useful; inCAmpania or Eventiesagre generally have better information
    • Qui Napoli - a service of the Naples tourist bureau, this (mostly) bilingual booklet is available at tourism offices and online --> note: as of late 2009, Qui Napoli has been consistently late and incomplete
    • Trovasagre - another list of (mostly food) festivals...another one is here.

Venues for Events

The following venues host events in Naples:

    • San Carlo Opera House (the oldest opera house in Europe; their orchestra also appears in many classical concerts throughout the city)
    • Villa Rufolo (Ravello Music Festival)
    • Mostra d'Oltremare (hosts Neapolis, a rock festival; near JFC/soccer stadium)
    • Caserta Royal Palace (various events, such as the Autumn Music Festival)
    • Pozzuoli Amphitheatre (Flegreinarte music festival)
    • Palapartenope Theater (rock concerts, etc. just west of Mostra d'Oltremare; near JFC)
    • Rai Auditorium (near JFC, 40°49'35"N 14°11'23"E)

Also check out www.ticketone.it and www.musiczone.it for tickets to big concerts throughout Italy. Jeff Matthews' Around Naples page also has a list of Cultural Venues.

Outside of Naples

The following are some major events outside of the Naples area that are popular:

    • Palio in Siena (July 2nd and Aug 16th)
    • Chocofest (Eurochocolate) in Perugia (mid to late October)
    • Carnevale in Venice (the 2 weeks before Ash Wednesday)
    • Oktoberfest in Munich (late September)
    • San Fermines (Running of the Bulls) in Pamplona (July 7-14)
    • Bastille Day in France (July 14th)
    • Notte Bianco in Rome
    • Christmas Markets - various places such as Trento, Les Plaisirs d'Hiver in Brussels, Christkindelsmärk in Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Christkindelsmarkt in Nürnberg (Friday before Advent until 12/24), Köln (Cologne), Montreux in Switzerland, Christkindlmarkt in Vienna, Copenhagen, Julmarknade in Sigtuna (Sweden, near Stockholm), Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Riga, Luxembourg City, Ljubljana, and Helsinki.
    • Triathlons - see separate page for triathlons (Olympic distance or lower) in and around Italy