Assisi Christmas Market

Assisi, in Umbria, is the town of Saint Francis, and its Christmas is built around what the saint invented at Greccio in 1223: the nativity scene. The Christmas market takes over piazza Santa Chiara, on the terrace that opens onto the valley in front of the Basilica of Saint Clare, with chalets of crafts and Umbrian produce, while the Basilica of Saint Francis and the façades of the centre receive projections of works of art. Assisi Christmas market is modest in size; what matters here are the nativity scenes, on show in the palaces, brought to life in the hamlets, and a World Heritage town of pink stone to wander through under the December lights.

Assisi Christmas market on piazza Santa Chiara: dates

The 2026 dates have not been published yet. In 2025, “Natale ad Assisi” ran from 6 December to 6 January, and the chalets on piazza Santa Chiara were open from 6 December to 6 January, 9am to 8pm on Sundays and public holidays and 10am to 7pm on other days, run by Unpli Umbria, with extra stalls at Santa Maria degli Angeli, in the lower town, from 6 to 21 December, and on piazza del Comune. The symbolic switching-on of the lights took place on 6 December at 5pm, with a signal sent from Bethlehem, twinned with Assisi since 1989. The pattern of a start around the Immaculate Conception long weekend repeats every year.

On the chalets, local crafts, handmade decorations and gift ideas sit alongside regional produce; vin brulé and Umbrian pastries take care of the food side. A little Christmas tourist train runs through the centre, and the Befana comes down from the Torre del Popolo, on piazza del Comune, on 6 January to close the season, after a concert and a DJ on the square on 31 December.

The nativity scenes of Assisi, from palace to village

The nativity scene is the real thread of Christmas in Assisi. In 2025, the Palazzo Monte Frumentario, the Galleria Le Logge and the Palazzo del Capitano del Perdono displayed a collection from all over the world, around 800 figurines, including Angela Tripi’s Sicilian Nativity, eight metres of terracotta characters. In the Basilica of Saint Francis, a monumental nativity with life-size terracotta statues stands on the lower forecourt. And in the hamlets of the municipality, residents stage living nativities in costume: for the 2025-2026 season, Petrignano, the oldest (44th edition), on 25, 26 and 28 December then 1 and 4 January from 5.15pm to 7.30pm, with a parade on 6 January, Armenzano on 26 December and 1 January, Tordandrea on 27 and 28 December, with free shuttles from the historic centre.

The rest of the 2025 programme was built around the theme of peace: projections of works by Chagall, Magritte, Klimt, Köder, Picasso and Banksy on the church façades, with piazza del Comune receiving a selection of Banksy taken from the “Peace on Earth” exhibition at the Rocca Maggiore. The winter edition of the DeMusicAssisi festival brought medieval Christmas music on 21, 24 and 26 December, then concerts and a historical banquet with music from 2 to 5 January. A festive trek and street shows rounded off the programme.

Why so many nativity scenes here? Because the tradition goes back to Francis himself: at Christmas 1223, in Greccio, in neighbouring Lazio, he had the Nativity re-enacted with a manger, an ox and a donkey, and Italy turned it into the presepe that every family still sets up in December. Assisi, where he was born and where he lies, is its natural showcase: the basilica carries the scene as painted by Giotto, and the hamlets replay it in costume. Seeing the nativity scenes of Assisi means going back to the source of the tradition before heading off to the markets.

Torta al testo, rocciata and vin brulé

Umbria eats simply. On piazza Santa Chiara and in the trattorias of the centre, you will find torta al testo, a flatbread cooked on a griddle and filled with cured meats or vegetables, cured meats from Norcia, Castelluccio lentils, new-season olive oil, pecorino and truffles. For something sweet, rocciata, a roll of apples, walnuts and raisins, and the snake-shaped torciglione, made of almond paste and pine nuts, are the region’s Christmas cakes. The red wine comes from Montefalco, a few dozen kilometres away.

That same wine ends up in the vin brulé served steaming in front of the chalets, with cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. To see how Italy, Alsace and the Nordic countries each prepare their mulled wine, we have gathered the recipes in mulled wine and its variations.

Practical info and getting there from France

Assisi climbs a hill above the plain, and its centre is pedestrianised. Assisi station is down below, at Santa Maria degli Angeli, on the Foligno-Terontola line, with buses up into town; by car, you park in the car parks below the walls and walk up or take the escalators. Perugia Sant’Egidio airport is 12 kilometres away. The market takes an hour to see; the nativity scenes, the basilica and the town need the whole day, and a night on the spot lets you see the projections once the coaches have left.

• Where: piazza Santa Chiara, in front of the Basilica of Saint Clare, in the historic centre of Assisi; stalls at Santa Maria degli Angeli and on piazza del Comune.
• When: 2026 dates to be confirmed by the town; in 2025, chalets on piazza Santa Chiara from 6 December to 6 January (9am-8pm on Sundays and public holidays, 10am-7pm on other days), stalls at Santa Maria degli Angeli from 6 to 21 December, Natale ad Assisi programme from 6 December to 6 January.
• How much: free entry to the market, the projections and the living nativities; nativity exhibitions and little train, 2026 prices to be confirmed.
• Getting there: Assisi station (Santa Maria degli Angeli) then bus; from Florence via Terontola, from Rome via Foligno; Perugia airport; by car, A1 (Valdichiana exit), raccordo towards Perugia then the SS75.
• Nearby: Perugia Christmas market 26 kilometres away, the giant tree and Gubbio Christmas market, and the living nativity of Greccio, where it all began.

From France, you reach Umbria by train via Milan. The TGV and Frecciarossa Paris-Turin-Milan services have been running again through the Maurienne valley since spring 2025; the direct trains are suspended for engineering work from 11 September to 9 October 2026, before the season. From Milan, a Frecciarossa takes you to Florence, then a regional train passes Terontola and Perugia before Assisi; via Rome, you come up through Foligno. A very long day in all, best broken with a night in Florence or Perugia. By car, Mont Blanc or Fréjus tunnel (toll), A1 to the Valdichiana exit, the Bettolle-Perugia raccordo then the SS75 to Assisi; a full day from Lyon, more from Paris. By air, Perugia is the closest, with Rome and Florence next.

Assisi, the town of Saint Francis

Francis was born here in 1181 or 1182 and died here in 1226; the Basilica of Saint Francis, with its two churches one above the other and the frescoes by Giotto and Cimabue, was inscribed with the other Franciscan sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000. Saint Clare, also born in Assisi, lies in the basilica that bears her name, on the edge of the market square. Down on the plain, the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli shelters the Porziuncola, the little chapel where Francis founded his order, and the Rocca Maggiore crowns the hill above the rooftops.

Piazza del Comune, in the centre, has kept the Roman temple of Minerva, converted into a church, and the Torre del Popolo from which the Befana descends. Assisi Christmas market 2026 slips into all this discreetly, as befits a pilgrimage town: a few chalets, plenty of nativity scenes, lights conceived as a message of peace, and a setting that has no need to do more. For a December weekend, Assisi, Perugia and Gubbio combine without long journeys, all three in the province of Perugia.