Sorrento lights up and gets ready for Christmas 2025

When winter descends on the Sorrento Peninsula, Sorrento does not simply don its classic postcard attire: it transforms, it lights up, and becomes a stage of emotions. Christmas 2025 promises to be not only a festive occasion, but also a strategic investment in the city’s tourism brand, with luminous scenery, tradition, art, and community at the heart of it all.

A Strategic Call for Christmas Lights

Behind the magic of Sorrento’s Christmas illuminations lies a clear and ambitious choice: the Municipality has launched a tender for the design, rental, installation, and maintenance of the lights for the three-year period 2025–2028.

The total budget allocated amounts to nearly €1.8 million, a figure that covers not only “lights and decorations,” but also energy costs (estimated at around €45,000 over three years). This is not a simple contract: the awarding criterion chosen is the “most economically advantageous offer,” a mechanism that rewards not only aesthetics, but also quality, innovation, and sustainability.

The Lighting Ceremony: The Ritual That Marks the Start of Christmas

As tradition dictates, the most anticipated moment is the lighting of the “singing” tree and the illuminations that spread throughout the historic center. The main streets — from Corso Italia to Piazza Tasso — will be adorned with already iconic installations: stars, luminous arches, cascades of light, figures that seem to step out of a fairy tale.

The tree in Piazza Tasso is not a static entity: each evening it comes alive with Christmas melodies and light shows, captivating both tourists and residents. This year, the official lighting is scheduled between late November and the first days of December at around 6:00 p.m., accompanied by music and applause.

Santa’s Village

For the little ones, Christmas in Sorrento is an interactive and magical experience thanks to Santa’s Village, which returns for the entire holiday season. Here, among food stalls with traditional sweets, creative workshops, shows, and entertainment, children can immerse themselves in a fairy-tale world. Santa Claus is not just a guest: he is the protagonist, ready for meetings, photos, and festive moments.

The village is a festive hub capable of engaging the whole family, offering smiles and memories that last even after the lights have gone out.

The Nativity Scene Exhibition at Villa Fiorentino

At Villa Fiorentino, a splendid historic residence overlooking the Gulf of Naples, the traditional Nativity Scene Exhibition returns. From December 1 to January 18, the sea-facing halls will host dozens of handcrafted cribs, created by local masters, schools, and enthusiasts.

Classic Neapolitan shepherds stand alongside contemporary interpretations, in an exhibition path that blends sacredness and creativity. Admission is free, inviting everyone — residents and tourists alike — to contemplate the Nativity in a refined and evocative setting.

Art and Participation: About Sorrento’s 2026 Calendar

To add an artistic and participatory touch, the association About Sorrento has launched a social photography contest: the 12 winning images will be featured in the 2026 calendar. But that’s not all: the photos will also be exhibited in the Cloister of San Francesco, a historic and contemplative space.

Thus, the light is not only that of the Christmas installations, but also that captured by camera lenses, immortalizing moments, emotions, and glimpses of the city in celebration.

Lights Not Just for the Present: A Long-Term Vision

The three-year tender represents a wager: not only for Christmas 2025, but also for the seasons to come. With this multi-year project, the Municipality of Sorrento aims to give continuity to an element now indispensable in its tourism offering. The illuminations are no longer just seasonal decorations, but a structured investment.

The choice of the “most economically advantageous offer” means that the goal is not merely cost savings, but proposals of quality, artistic refinement, and energy sustainability. A strategy that combines beauty and rationality, image and responsibility.

With Christmas 2025, the city confirms that its illuminations are part of its identity: not just decorations, but strategic symbols and tourism drivers. It is clear: Sorrento wants to establish itself as a premier Christmas destination.

When the lights are switched on at the end of November, it will not only mark the start of the festivities: it will also ignite a new cycle, made of beauty and the desire to remain in the memory of those who visit this magical city.