The magic of Christmas

Christmas in Puglia is very heartfelt!

The holiday season exalts some of the most relevant region’s peculiarities: artisanship, pastry, and tradition.

Let us suggest to you what to taste and look for during your Christmas holidays in Puglia.

Cities and towns are decorated for the holidays

During the holidays, you can find the main cities of Puglia all dressed up, with luminous giant Christmas trees soaring in their central squares, with artisans’ markets, street artists, and musicians playing all around.

Just to mention a few, you will certenly find stunning decorations in Piazza Ferrarese in Bari, Piazza Sant’Oronzo in Lecce, Piazza Cavour in Foggia, and Piazza Immacolata in Taranto.

Also, be sure to visit the towns nearby cities, because they get even more beautiful than they are during the holiday season with Christmas lights and garlands festooning houses, shops, and streets.

In Itria Valley, around Ostuni, Cisternino, Locorotondo, Alberobello, and Fasano, you will feel the real magic of Christmas in Puglia between the coloured markets stalls and the trulli, where the artisans show one of the best Apulian talents.

Artisanship and traditions

Talking about old traditions and artisanship, Christmas in Puglia also means Presepe. The Nativity scene, which is handed down by the catholic habit, is represented by local artisans in different ways.

In Lecce, it joins the art of papier-mâché, but actually, you can find some masterpieces made by artists during the past centuries in many churches around Puglia. 

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta, in Polignano a Mare, hosts one of the most impressive Nativity scenes in Puglia. While in the Church of Madonna del Carmine in Grottaglie, a city near Taranto recognized as the realm of ceramic, you can find one of the oldest Christmas cribs in the world, made in 1530.

We wish you a delicious Christmas

While going around, your eyes won’t be captured only by decorations, but also by food!

It is not Christmas in Puglia until Cartellate began appearing in bakeries and pastry shop: some delicious thin crunchy pastry with honey or vincotto, and Pasta Reale, almond cookies with candied fruit. 

Bari, the house of Santa Claus

Last but not least, want to impress your kids? Don’t forget that Bari is the home of the real Santa Claus: Saint Nicholas from Myra, the Patron Saint of the city.

So, if you have a really big desire to ask Santa, come to the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari, where his relics rest, to secretly ask directly to him to make your dream come true.

And just remember to be good for the whole year, of course!

Can’t wait to enjoy Christmas in Puglia? Start planning your trip now!