Christmas and living nativity scenes on the Costa Viola: the December-January calendar

Between 19 December and 6 January, the Costa Viola and the towns just inland, towards the Piana di Gioia Tauro and the Aspromonte, fill up with a dense calendar of living nativity scenes: not a single event but a sequence of fixed evenings, each with its own village, parish and cast of performers. Anyone staying in the area for a few days can realistically catch two or three, fitting the starting times of one town around another rather than picking just one.

This page follows the calendar day by day, from the first evenings of December through to the Epiphany, and also tells the story of what remains of a Calabrian Christmas beyond the costumed nativities: the collections of artisan nativity figures kept in the museums of Reggio Calabria and Taurianova, and the ciaramedda, the bagpipe of the Aspromonte shepherds that once came down as far as the city for the Novena. The dates given are those of the most recently documented editions: check them with the individual town or association before setting out, since they can change from year to year.

A Christmas lived evening by evening

There is no single «living nativity of the Costa Viola»: there is a series of evenings, each organised by a different parish, volunteer association or town council, following one another between mid-December and the Epiphany. Some have been running for years, others are more recent, but they all share the same set-up: alleys or squares fitted out with the workshops of old trades, live animals, dozens of performers and a route leading to the Nativity.

The most practical way to plan is to think in terms of dates, not towns: the evenings do not recur every weekend in every village, but cluster on a handful of specific nights, often just a few kilometres apart. The paragraphs that follow set out the calendar in chronological order, from 19 December to 6 January, with the exact place, who organises it and what to expect from each nativity.

19 and 21 December: Polistena and Borgo Nocille at Pellaro

The calendar opens on 19 December in Polistena, in the Piana di Gioia Tauro, where the town council includes a Living Nativity in its yearly programme of events, run by the «Jerace-Brogna» school network at the Scuola dell’Infanzia on via Pietro Nenni, with free entry: the most neighbourhood-scale evening of the calendar, made by children for children.

Two evenings later, on 21 December, the Borgo Nocille living nativity brings the Pellaro district of Reggio Calabria to life: the 2025 edition is the third, organised by the Borgo Nocille cultural association, chaired by Demetrio Laganà, together with the «Cipriani Daniela» nursery school. The setting is rural, with live animals, old trades and period food, all accompanied by the sound of bagpipes and Christmas carols: a good taste, even before reaching the Aspromonte, of what the word ciaramedda means here. In Reggio, in past years, a similar nativity has also brought the Arangea district to life, inside the old Baglio Attanasio.

26 to 29 December: Messignadi, Barritteri and Rizziconi

Between 26 and 28 December, attention shifts to Messignadi, a hamlet of Oppido Mamertina, where the historic core of the Borgo Timpa turns into a small Bethlehem with lit-up alleys and reconstructed old workshops. The 2025-26 edition is the third since the first, in December 2023: the dates are 27 and 28 December, with a final one on 4 January, promoted by the parish of «S. Nicola di Mira» and the town council together with the association «Messignadi nel Cuore». Along the route, besides the Nativity, visitors can taste fresh ricotta, home-made bread, extra-virgin olive oil, zeppole and frittole, the winter dish that is almost an institution here.

In Barritteri, a hamlet of Seminara a couple of kilometres from the town centre, the living nativity reaches its seventh edition in 2025-26: the first evening on 27 December, closing on 6 January, starting at 5.30pm along the streets of the old village. It is organised by the parish of Maria SS. Addolorata and the Comitato Feste with the patronage of the municipality of Seminara, and the latest edition drew around 2,500 visitors on the opening night and 1,500 on the closing one, amid re-enactments of old trades and tastings of local produce. On 29 December, finally, the Piana also hosts a living nativity at Cannavà, in Rizziconi, organised by the parish of Santa Teresa di Gesù Bambino with the Annunciation scene and the area’s craft trades; in Rizziconi itself a nativity is also documented in the historic centre, run by the association E.Sa.T. — not necessarily the same event — starting from via Rattazzi and ending at the Chiesa Matrice for the blessing of the Christ child.

The Epiphany: Cannitello and Porelli close the season

In Villa San Giovanni, in the hamlet of Cannitello, the living nativity is held literally on the shore of the Strait of Messina, on via Torrente Zagarella: it is organised by the volunteer association «Luce sullo Stretto», which channels the proceeds into charitable initiatives in the area. In the most recently documented editions there were three dates, 26 December and 1 and 6 January, from 5pm to 8pm: over a hundred performers bring to life a route of about 3,125 square metres featuring the baker, the basket-weaver, the soap-maker, the spinner, the cooper, the blacksmith and the carpenter, with tastings inspired by the foods of Palestine two thousand years ago. The dates are confirmed each year: it is worth checking the current edition’s before setting out.

In Porelli, a hamlet of Bagnara Calabra, the living nativity is instead the last of a series of yearly initiatives run by the association «Vivi il Borgo» — which in the same period also organises «Borgo in Fiore», «Porte d’Artista», the lighting of the tree and a Christmas concert. In the most recent edition it was held on 5 January, starting at 4.30pm from Piazza Cappuccini: around a hundred people took part between performers, extras, technicians and volunteers, with the support of the parish of Santa Maria degli Angeli, led by Father Giuseppe Calogero, the Confraternita dell’Immacolata and the Caravilla association, and the patronage of the municipality of Bagnara Calabra.

The nativity that stays: the Sapone collection, Taurianova and the ciaramedda

Besides the costumed evenings, the area keeps nativity collections that stay open to visitors for longer. At the Diocesan Museum of Reggio Calabria, on via Tommaso Campanella, the Mostra di Presepi seasonally displays the collection of Ninì Sapone (1942-2008), a nativity-maker from Bianco who was made a Knight of the Republic in 2003: ceramic figurines by the Allegra brothers of Reggio, terracotta pieces by Giuseppe Pesa of Seminara, and works from Caltagirone, from Castellammare di Stabia, from the papier-mâché schools of Lecce and Sicily, from Val Gardena and from Liguria, plus a section dedicated to nativities from around the world. In Taurianova, meanwhile, the Mostra dei Presepi Napoletani reaches its tenth edition in 2025-26, curated by the association «Amici del Palco» and by architect Giacomo Carioti: with the Chiesa del Rosario under restoration, the 2025-26 venue is the ground floor of the former Pretura on via XXIV Maggio, reopened for the occasion through an agreement between the town council and the Agenzia del Demanio, from 21 December to 7 January.

The sound accompanying many of these evenings, from the nativities of Pellaro to those of the high Aspromonte, is that of the ciaramedda, the shepherds’ paired bagpipe: two matching melody pipes and three drones, a bag of goat or sheep skin, pipes carved from heather or fruit-tree wood and reeds fixed with beeswax, built in towns such as Brancaleone and Bagaladi. In the Reggio area it accompanied the Novena of the Christ Child, from 16 to 24 December, when the zampognari — shepherds and farmers supplementing their income this way — played in front of wayside shrines or on families’ request: early-twentieth-century accounts describe groups coming down from the villages of the Aspromonte all the way to Reggio Calabria just for the Novena, a ritual that has carried through the century and still lives on, in a new form, in the living nativities of today.

Christmas sweets and the coast in winter

The frittole of Messignadi, the zeppole of Rizziconi and the ricotta of Barritteri tell only part of the area’s Christmas table, the part tied to individual festivals. In the broader Reggio confectionery tradition, meanwhile, there are the petrali, shortcrust pastry parcels filled with dried figs, sultanas, almonds, walnuts, citrus peel and cinnamon, left to macerate for a couple of days in coffee and cooked wine must; the nacatole, whose name comes from «naca», the cradle, recalling the birth of Jesus; and the turdilli, small fried sweets coated in honey. These are the same sweets found on village stalls during the living nativities, and this website covers them in more depth on its page about what to eat on the Costa Viola.

Further down, the Piana di Gioia Tauro-Rosarno is in its citrus season in December: mild winters and loose soils make it one of the most suited areas in Calabria, with seedless clementines and mandarins accounting for around half of production, alongside Navel oranges and about ten thousand quintals of lemons, a landscape covered in more detail on the page about typical Aspromonte produce. Anyone wanting to climb into the mountains the same day can reach Gambarie, between 1,350 and 1,700 metres: in recent winters the ski lifts have often stayed closed even with snow on the ground, but a walk, a sledge ride and a stop at a bar before heading back to the coast remain possible.

What to see nearby

For a rainy day, or simply to round off a stop in Reggio Calabria between one nativity and another, the Riace Bronzes remain the most obvious museum stop in the area, a few minutes from Pellaro and from Arangea. Anyone with more time can head into the Greek-Calabrian hinterland, towards Bova, a village best seen in winter without the summer traffic and with the low light that flatters the stone: the Area Grecanica itself tells another side of the province, quieter than the one made of costumed nativities.

After an evening at a nativity, the towns of the Piana and the Aspromonte also offer a proper dinner: you will find a selection of addresses on the page about the best restaurants in the Piana di Gioia Tauro and the one about the best restaurants in the Aspromonte, useful for anyone fitting several evenings into a few days and wanting to eat well between one stop and the next.

Where to stay: holiday homes on the Costa Viola for Christmas and New Year

Spending the holidays on the Costa Viola means having the sea outside your window and the area’s living nativities less than an hour’s drive away, between Scilla, Bagnara, the Piana di Gioia Tauro and the Aspromonte. Our holiday homes range from one-bedroom flats for couples to larger apartments for families and groups wanting to spend Christmas or New Year together, many with sea views and just steps from the historic centres. Check availability for the dates you have in mind and send us a direct request: we will help you find the right place for these weeks in December and January.

Frequently asked questions about Christmas and living nativity scenes on the Costa Viola

When are the living nativity scenes on the Costa Viola and nearby held? They cluster between 19 December and 6 January, on a handful of fixed evenings: 19 and 21 December in Polistena and Pellaro, between 26 and 29 December in Messignadi, Barritteri and Rizziconi, and between 1 and 6 January in Cannitello (which in the most recent editions has also opened on 26 December) and Porelli. The dates given are those of the most recent editions: check them with the individual town or association before setting out.

How many living nativities can be seen in a single stay? Anyone staying for a long weekend or over the Christmas holidays can realistically fit in two or three, since several dates fall just a few days and a few kilometres apart, such as Messignadi and Barritteri between 26 and 28 December.

Are the living nativities ticketed? In the cases documented on this page, entry is free, as they are parish, municipal or volunteer-association initiatives; any changes should be checked year by year with the local organisers.

Where can you see a nativity exhibition, not just a living nativity? At the Diocesan Museum of Reggio Calabria, with the Ninì Sapone collection open between Christmas and the Epiphany, and in Taurianova, where the Mostra dei Presepi Napoletani stays on display for about two weeks between December and January.

What is the ciaramedda? It is the shepherds’ paired bagpipe of the Aspromonte, with two matching melody pipes and three drones: in the Reggio area’s Christmas it traditionally accompanied the Novena of the Christ Child, from 16 to 24 December, and it is still heard today at the living nativities and in village streets during the holidays.

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