Italian New Year’s traditions: 6 things Italians do on New Year’s Eve
Celebrating New Year’s in Italy is much more than just a countdown to midnight. It’s a mix of ancient rituals, loud celebrations, symbolic food, and heartfelt wishes for good luck. If you’re an exchange student, moving to Italy, or celebrating here for the first time, these six traditions will help you fully embrace the magic of the Italian New Year.
Where do Italians celebrate the New Year?
Many Italians start the evening with a long dinner at home with family or close friends. Around or after midnight, younger people usually head out to parties and clubs, while others stay home watching concerts on TV and playing board games.
It is also very common to attend the countdown to midnight in a public square, where local municipalities organise concerts and live shows for residents and visitors.
Especially the big cities like Rome and Florence offer amazing free open-air events and fireworks. Here are a few examples:
- Bologna, countdown di Piazza Maggiore from 23:00 with DJ set;
- Florence, live concert in Piazza Santa Croce;
- Rome, countdown and big concert at the Circo Massimo from 21:00.
This year, the city of Milan will skip its traditional New Year’s Eve concert in Piazza Duomo due to the installation work related to the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Ancient (and sometimes weird) New Year’s Eve Italian traditions
Italy is full of unusual customs, especially when it comes to New Year’s Eve. Some of these traditions date back centuries and may seem a bit strange today, but they are still deeply rooted in Italian culture.
Throwing old objects out of the window
In the past, especially in Southern Italy, people would throw old plates, furniture and other old objects out of their windows at midnight. This gesture symbolised getting rid of negativity from the past year and making space for positive change.
Today, this tradition is mostly symbolic. Many municipalities have banned throwing objects out of windows because it’s obviously dangerous, but the idea of “letting go” is still very much alive.
Wearing red underwear
One of the most popular Italian New Year’s traditions is wearing red underwear on the night of December 31st, as it is believed to bring love and luck in the coming year.
A typical Italian New Year’s dish: cotechino e lenticchie
Cotechino e lenticchie (pork sausage with lentils) is the most traditional Italian New Year’s dish.
Eating lentils on New Year’s Eve is considered a must if you want your finances to improve in the year ahead. Since Roman times, lentils have symbolised wealth due to their shape resembling ancient coins.
As with most Italian culinary traditions, geography matters: every region has its own favourite New Year’s dish, and some places even adopted customs from other countries. In Naples, for example, people eat 12 grapes before midnight, a tradition borrowed from Spain dating back to the period when Naples was part of the Spanish Empire.
Playing tombola while waiting for midnight
Another classic part of New Year’s Eve Italian traditions is staying up late playing tombola, a traditional Italian bingo game, especially popular with families.
People snack on panettone or pandoro, drink prosecco, and wait together for midnight. For many Italians, this relaxed, family-centered moment is just as important as the party afterward.
Burning “Il Vecchione”
This century-old tradition from the city of Bologna involves burning “Il Vecchione,” a large sculpture made of wood and papier-mâché that represents the old year being left behind to make room for the new one. Each year, a local artist is selected to create the sculpture, which is burned at midnight in Piazza Maggiore.
This year’s sculpture is an egg-laying Gremlin with large bat-like ears, symbolising the ugliness of war and collective negativity.
Shooting fireworks
Fireworks are an essential element of New Year in Italy traditions. Historically, the loud noise and bright lights were meant to scare away evil spirits.
Today, fireworks are simply a joyful way to welcome the New Year. Displays take place not only in main squares but also in private homes, where families often light small fireworks together, even with children.
How do you say “Happy New Year” in Italian?
If you’re wondering how you say Happy New Year in Italian, one of the most common expressions is: Buona fine e buon principio, meaning: “Have a nice ending and a nice beginning”.You can say that at any time during the day of the 31st, and then, exactly at midnight, switch to: Buon anno!.
