What does Italy do on New Year's Eve?

Each country in the world has its own way of celebrating the New Year.

Italy is no exception, with Italian Capodanno's traditions varying from region to region.

Italians love to celebrate New Year’s Eve with firework displays, festivals, concerts, and of course...parties.

On New Year’s Eve, a lot of Italians will get together with family and friends for dinner. 

Italians New Year’s dinners always feature meals such as Cotechino (Italian sausage) and Lenticchie (lentils).

new year italy

Cotechino represents how rich life is, and lentils symbolize money.

Therefore, eating them on New Year’s Eve is thought to bring prosperity in the new year.

But dinner is just the beginning of the festivities.

As mentioned above, after the meal, Italians head into the streets, concerts, festivals etc..

Organized outdoor concerts and fireworks

Italians like to go to organized outdoor concerts which are usually held on the towns and cities main squares. 

Italians also love fireworks, and New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest fireworks nights of the year.

Most cities and towns will have official fireworks shows in the same location as one of the outdoor concerts.

capodanno italy

Throw old things from the window as a tradition

In Italy, a large part of the New Year’s Eve celebration is letting go of the old year.

So, at midnight, in cities like Naples locals throw out the window old things to symbolize that you let go of what is useless and to make room for a new start.

Furthermore, both men and women wear red lingerie to bring about love and good fortune, as well as fertility.

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