In December Bologna lights up under its porticoes, and Christmas here has a shape of its own: fewer shopping-centre windows, more stalls, churches and handmade things. For those who want to experience it that way there are three stops that fit into a single day: the Santa Lucia fair, the nativity scenes of the Bolognese tradition and a workshop where you make the present yourself.
The Santa Lucia fair, under the Servi portico
It is the oldest Christmas market in the city. Its roots go back to the late sixteenth century, when Pope Gregory XIII gave the diocese a relic of Saint Lucy: the Jesuits built a church in Via Castiglione to keep it, and the first stalls of holy images and sweets appeared on its steps. Suspended in the Napoleonic era, the fair then resumed under the monumental portico of the basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi, where it is still held today.
On the stalls you find nativity figurines, ornaments and decorations, candles, nougat and mistocchine, the chestnut-flour sweets of the Bolognese tradition. The dates shift a little every year, but the fair usually opens in early November and closes after Christmas: check them on the Bologna Welcome website before you go. The tip is to visit on a weekday morning, when there is room to walk under the portico.
The nativity scenes, and the two figures you only find in Bologna
The Bolognese nativity scene has a tradition of terracotta figurines dating back to the eighteenth century, and two characters that visitors do not know. The Meraviglia («Wonder») is the figure with arms flung wide and often an open mouth, amazed at the birth. The Dormiglione («Sleepyhead») is the one sleeping blissfully, unaware of everything happening around him. Looking for them in church nativity scenes is a game children enjoy too.
In December many churches in the centre display their nativity scene, and in recent years the Davia Bargellini Museum, on Strada Maggiore, has also held exhibitions of traditional nativity figures. Updated lists come out every year on the Bologna Welcome and city council websites.
A present made by hand
After the fair, the question is always the same: what to give. In Bologna there are two ways that go through a workshop.
Make it yourself, in a December workshop
Two or three hours to make the present by hand, or the decorations for your home: a candle with the scent you chose, a hand-sewn notebook, a simple piece of jewellery, a table arrangement. The dates are on the workshops in Bologna page; online you pay only the deposit, 10 euros per seat, and the rest to the Maker on the day of the workshop. Watch out for ceramics: it needs firing and is collected a few weeks later, so if the piece has to be under the tree the workshop has to be in November. Every workshop listing says when it is collected.
Give the workshop, with the gift card
If the present is the experience, the Handsome gift card is valid for 12 months on any workshop on the platform, from 15 to 500 euros. If you choose «On a chosen day», the recipient finds the code in their email that morning: it can arrive on 25 December. You receive it right after payment, with the card to print and put under the tree, and you can add a message. More ideas are in the guide to gift ideas in Bologna.
A December day in Bologna
- Morning, Strada Maggiore. Start from the Two Towers and walk under the porticoes to the Servi basilica and the fair.
- Lunch. A plate of tortellini in broth, which in Bologna in December is not a tourist choice but a family tradition.
- Afternoon, the workshop. Two hours making the present, or the decorations, booked in advance.
- Evening, the lights. The illuminated centre; Via D'Azeglio, the street where Lucio Dalla lived, has had lights spelling out song lyrics in recent years.
If you stay until New Year's Eve, by tradition the Vecchione is burned in Piazza Maggiore, the big effigy that stands for the year that is ending. To build a whole weekend around a workshop there is the guide to a weekend in Bologna with a workshop on the programme; for two, the one on what to do in Bologna as a couple.
If it rains, and in December it does
Bologna is the city that minds rain least: the porticoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021, let you walk around the centre staying almost always dry. For a whole day indoors there is the guide to what to do in Bologna when it rains. And if the Christmas you have to organise is your company's, there is a separate page on company Christmas gifts in Bologna.
Frequently asked questions
- When is the Santa Lucia fair in Bologna?
- Usually from early November to late December, under the portico of the basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi on Strada Maggiore. The dates shift a little each year: check them on Bologna Welcome before you go.
- What can you buy at the Santa Lucia fair?
- Nativity figurines, Christmas ornaments and decorations, candles, nougat, mistocchine and other sweets, gift items.
- Who are the Meraviglia and the Dormiglione?
- Two figures typical of the Bolognese nativity scene: the Meraviglia, with arms flung wide in amazement, and the Dormiglione, who sleeps unaware of everything. They belong to a tradition of terracotta figurines dating back to the eighteenth century.
- How do you give a workshop for Christmas?
- With the Handsome gift card: choose the amount, from 15 to 500 euros, and the day it should arrive. The recipient finds the code in their email that morning, and you receive the printable card straight away. It is valid for 12 months on any workshop on the platform.
- Is a ceramic piece made in December ready for Christmas?
- Often not: ceramics need firing and are collected a few weeks later. If the present has to be ready for the 25th, choose a workshop you take home straight away, or do the ceramics in November. Every workshop listing says when it is collected.
10 euro deposit per seat, the rest to the Maker on the day of the workshop, free cancellation up to 3 days before.
See workshops in Bologna
