Guide
Christmas in Cortona: Nativity Scenes, Lights and Festive Events
The first year Cortona put a price on its Christmas attractions, they logged more than 6,000 single admissions. Most of the programme stayed free.1 That’s a big turnout for an Etruscan hill town 494 metres up2. In December, Madonnas and angels light up the façades of the old palazzi, and the churches put a light over the door to tell you there’s a nativity scene inside.
The dates, times and prices below are from the 2025/26 edition, which wrapped up on 6 January 2026. As of early October 2026, next season’s programme still hasn’t been announced. Use this guide to get a feel for how Christmas works in Cortona and to plan your weekend, then check the details once the organisers publish the new line-up.
When is Christmas in Cortona?
The last edition ran for exactly a month, from 6 December 2025 to 6 January 2026, and spread from the historic centre out to the villages around it. It opened on Saturday 6 December at 5pm in Piazza della Repubblica, when the Christmas lights and the projections on the façades were switched on.3 The programme is backed by the town council, run by Cortona Sviluppo and supported by more than 60 local businesses.4
That first afternoon sets the tone. The «Sganghenga» street band played the attractions open, and children from the «Rodari» nursery school in Pergo and the «Cucciatti» nursery in Cortona sang in the square before the mayor gave his speech.3 The whole community puts this on. Out in the villages, the local Pro Loco groups and associations stage living nativities, shows and entertainment.1
If you’re still picking dates, the town has two speeds between the Immaculate Conception (8 December) and Epiphany. On weekdays it’s quiet and the attractions keep shorter hours. Weekends bring the markets, street performers and far bigger crowds.
The lights on Piazza della Repubblica and San Domenico
The projection show is what sticks in people’s minds. Last time round it was devoted to St Francis, ahead of the celebrations for Italy’s patron saint. Paintings by Pietro da Cortona, Luca Signorelli, Rubens and Raphael rolled across the buildings, all sharing the same subjects: the Madonna, the Christ Child and St Francis.4 The show played every evening in Piazza della Repubblica and on the church of San Domenico.5
It ran daily from 5.30pm to 10.30pm.6 Get to the square just as it’s getting dark, while the blue light of dusk still picks out the rooftops against the sky, and stay for a few loops. After dinner the crowd thins and you can watch the whole sequence properly, ideally with a hot chocolate to keep your hands warm. The images show the Madonna and Child, St Francis and angels, beamed onto the palazzi of the old town.6
Then there’s the view from above. New last year was the Sky Tower, a 40-metre observation ride set up in Piazza Garibaldi and open from 10am to 9pm.7 From the top you could see from the old town right across the Valdichiana.4 Go up in daylight for the patchwork of fields on the plain. Go up around 8pm to see the lights strung along the streets that drop down the hill.
The nativity trail, church by church
This takes the most time and pays off the most. Over the holidays, several churches and landmark buildings put out fine nativity scenes, part folk devotion, part craftsmanship. Each one is marked by special lighting outside, so you can find them after dark too.8
These were the six main stops last year, in the order the organisers suggested:
- Church of San Filippo, one of the first stops, with a nativity rooted in folk tradition and full of handcrafted detail.
- Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the spiritual heart of the town, with an artistic nativity rich in symbolism.
- Church of San Domenico, where the nativity blends classic and contemporary touches.
- Basilica of Santa Margherita, in the sanctuary of Cortona’s patron saint.
- Eremo de Le Celle, one of the most atmospheric Franciscan sites in Italy, with a quiet, contemplative nativity.
- Church of San Francesco, the last stop, with a nativity that harks back to the Franciscan spirit of Christmas.8
On foot, it’s best done in two halves. San Filippo, the Cathedral, San Domenico and San Francesco are all in the old town, linked by the steep lanes and steps you’d expect from a town built into a hillside. The Basilica of Santa Margherita sits higher up, and that last climb will get to your legs, especially in the cold. The Eremo de Le Celle is outside the centre, so give it a morning of its own and work out how you’ll get there before you set off.
Here’s an easy rhythm. Do the town-centre churches in the late afternoon, when the outside lights lead you from one to the next, and finish in the square with the projections. Next morning, in the early light, walk up to Santa Margherita and then head down to Le Celle. If the last Sunday of December follows last year’s calendar, you might also catch an organ and saxophone concert in the Cathedral at 5.30pm.9
Living nativities and village festivities
Christmas in Cortona reaches out to the hamlets, where the locals keep the traditions going. Last year the Pietraia living nativity was one of the big events between Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day, thanks to the association behind it and a whole village pitching in.9 The organisers point out that Pro Loco groups and local associations filled the entire area with living nativities and shows.1
St Stephen’s Day brought the old town its most theatrical moment. At 4.30pm, artificial snow fell over Piazza della Repubblica while Giacomo Rossetti played live on guitar, bass drum and vocals.9 For a child, watching snow drift down in front of the town hall is the kind of memory that lasts.
The villages have their own markets too. In Pierle, at the foot of the castle, they ran last year from 6 to 8 and from 13 to 14 December.3 They make a good arrival-day stop: an afternoon in Pierle, then up to Cortona in time for the lights.
Cortona’s Christmas markets, weekend by weekend
Last year, a market took over the old town every weekend, each with its own theme.4 The organisers bill them as «quality markets» and count them among the highlights of the programme.1 These are the dates confirmed by official sources:
- 6–8 December: the first weekend in town, devoted to local specialities, alongside the Pierle markets.3
- 13–14 December: the Pierle markets open for a second time.3
- Saturday 27 December: the Terzieri market in the old town, run by the Gruppo storico di Cortona.9
The other weekends followed the same pattern, with themes and dates announced as they went. The Immaculate Conception weekend packs in the most: the opening, the local-produce markets and street shows. Last year, stilt walkers and fire-eaters turned up on Sunday 7 December, and on Monday 8 at 4pm the «Il Folletto» circus school performed in Piazza della Repubblica.3
The Terzieri market has a flavour all its own. It’s run by the town’s historical society, and it shows you Cortona the way locals live it in the slower, family days between Christmas and New Year.
With kids: Santa’s train and vintage toys
If you’re travelling with little ones, last year’s attractions could easily fill an afternoon. At Palazzo Ferretti, Via Nazionale 45, the Santa Claus Virtual Express took passengers all the way to Santa’s house in an immersive ride aboard a virtual train.5
The Vintage Toy and Model Exhibition, in its second year, filled every room of the Sant’Agostino conference centre at Via Guelfa 40.4 The auditorium held model railways and dioramas, the Severini room was given over to Lego and the Pancrazi room to Barbie, while the display cases were lined with ships, planes and toy soldiers.10 Visitors could drive the trains on the big layout themselves.4
Watch the opening hours, which changed halfway through. From 6 to 20 December the exhibition was open Monday to Friday from 3pm to 7pm (mornings by booking only) and at weekends from 10am to 7pm. From 21 December to 6 January it opened every day, bank holidays included, from 10am to 7pm.10
For something different, on Sunday 28 December last year the MAEC ran a free archaeological treasure hunt for families and groups. You had to sign up by 10am that day at the tourist info point in Piazza Signorelli.9 The same museum was hosting «Etruschi in Olanda» (Etruscans in Holland), an exhibition of 150 works, including ten bronze statues from the Corazzi Collection on loan from the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden.5
How much do the attractions cost?
Last year was the first with a ticket, and it only covered the main attractions. Most events stayed free.1 The named ticket cost €6 full price and €4 for children aged 7 to 14, and under-6s went free. The Christmas Family Card, for two adults with one or two children under 14, cost €12.5
Let’s do the maths. A couple with two kids aged 9 and 12 would have paid €20 with single tickets and €12 with the Family Card, which you could also buy online.7 If you’d rather buy on the spot, there were two ticket offices: one at Palazzo Ferretti, Via Nazionale 45, the other at the Sant’Agostino conference centre, Via Guelfa 40.3
What stays the same every year, and what changes
A lot of what’s online about this event muddles up different years and passes off old projections or attractions as current. To avoid turning up with the wrong expectations, it helps to separate the fixtures from the things that rotate.
In recent years, the constants have been the dates (early December to Epiphany), the lights in the old town, the nativity trail through the churches, the weekend markets and the village events run by local associations. The model exhibition also came back last year for its second outing.5
What changes is the theme of the projections (St Francis last season), the headline attraction (like the Sky Tower, billed as new), the venues for some activities, ticket prices and the exhibitions that run alongside. At the Fortezza del Girifalco, for example, the exhibition «Campioni si diventa» stayed open until 6 January.9 When the new programme comes out, these are the things to check.
Getting around a hill town on foot in winter
Cortona is a walking town, and in December that’s worth planning for. The streets switch between level stretches, steep climbs and flights of steps, and where the sun doesn’t reach, the stone stays cold and damp. Wear shoes with decent grip, bring a hat and gloves for evenings in the square, and pack an extra layer if you’re heading up towards Santa Margherita. Thousands turned out for last year’s New Year’s Eve despite the bitter cold1, which tells you how sharp the nights get up here at the turn of the year.
Think about the car, too. On festive weekends the car parks around the walls fill up fast, and hunting for a space after a long drive is a poor start. Hotel Villa Santa Margherita, a short walk from the old town, has its own private car park. Leave the car when you arrive, pick it up when you go, and walk everywhere in between: nativities, markets, light shows.
After an evening in Piazza della Repubblica, it’s good to come back somewhere quiet. The hotel has a large private garden and a terrace looking out over the Valdichiana. In the morning, before you set off for the churches, you can watch the mist lift off the plain from up there. It’s family-run, and the owners are happy to help you work out which days on the calendar suit your pace best.
How many days do you need for Christmas in Cortona?
A long weekend does it. Spend day one in town with the projections and the church nativities, and day two on Santa Margherita, Le Celle and a village like Pierle or Pietraia. With kids, add half a day for the toy exhibition and Santa’s house.
What time is best for a stroll through the old town?
Between 5.30pm and 7.30pm. The projections have started6, the nativities are marked by their outside lights8 and the shops are still open.
Do you have to pay for the events?
The ticket only covered the main attractions; most events were free.1 The projections in the square, the church nativities and the markets are all open to everyone.
What were the opening hours?
On holidays the attractions opened from 10am to 1pm and from 3pm to 7pm.9 The Sky Tower stayed open until 9pm7 and the projections ran until 10.30pm.6
Sources
Footnotes
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Cortona — dati (Wikidata). wikidata.org ↩
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È tutto pronto per Natale a Cortona. Sabato 6 dicembre l’inaugurazione: un mese di eventi. cdn.comune.cortona.ar.it ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
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Invia il contenuto. cdn.comune.cortona.ar.it ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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Natale a Cortona, un mese di eventi e attrazioni. Giochi di luce artistici dedicati a San Francesco. comune.cortona.ar.it ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Video Mapping. cortonaeventi.it ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Sky Tower. cortonaeventi.it ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Presepi storici e artistici. cortonaeventi.it ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Mostra Giocattolo e Modellismo. cortonaeventi.it ↩ ↩2