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In this article
The festive season at a glance
20 December to 6 January: events in every municipality, led by Portoferraio and Capoliveri.
New Year's Eve in the square in Portoferraio, with live music and fireworks over the harbour at midnight.
Living nativity scenes in Marciana and Rio nell'Elba, and the Befana arriving by sea in Rio Marina.
Between 20 December and 6 January Elba enjoys its second season of open-air festivities, the one summer visitors never get to see. Programmes are run by each municipality, change every year and are usually published in the first half of December. This guide gathers what comes back year after year, using last season's dates as a reference, together with the practical details you need to plan a year-end stay on the island.
When the festivities happen and what to expect
The calendar has three peaks: the weekends before Christmas, with markets and concerts; New Year's Eve, with the big party in the square in Portoferraio and in Capoliveri; and Epiphany, which on Elba is the most heartfelt day of the season, with the Befana arriving in every village in a different way. In between, from 24 to 28 December, the living nativity scenes in the hill villages.
The weather is mild but changeable: sunny days alternate with windy fronts, and the sun sets at around 4:50 pm. Evening events in the square call for a coat and scarf, not your September jacket. Check the official programme on the municipal and Pro Loco channels and, in one place, in our events on Elba Island section.
New Year's Eve in the square in Portoferraio
Portoferraio is the heart of the festivities. The 2025/26 programme followed a now well-established pattern: the artisan market on the terrace of the Centrale Gourmet on 20 and 21 December, "Aspettando il Natale" under the 14-metre tree in the old town on 23 December, local bands in Piazza Cavour on 29 December. On the 31st live music started at 10:30 pm, fireworks lit up the harbour at midnight and the DJ set carried on until 3 am. From late January until Easter Monday, Piazza Cavour hosts an ice rink.
A practical tip: the party is free and outdoors, but restaurants in the centre must be booked weeks ahead for New Year's Eve dinner, because the places open in winter are a fraction of the summer ones. Start here: restaurants on Elba Island.
Living nativities and village festivals
Marciana and Rio nell'Elba
The living nativity of Marciana, in the medieval village below Monte Capanne, is the most atmospheric: over a hundred performers in the granite alleys, with the old water mill working again; in past editions it was held on Christmas Eve and on the following days. In Rio nell'Elba the Pro Loco stages its living nativity between Christmas and New Year (28 December last season) and, on the evening of 5 January from 9 pm, the Canto della Befana through the streets of the village.
Capoliveri and the Campo villages
Capoliveri sets up its Christmas Village with children's workshops on the weekends before Christmas and on 27 and 28 December, concerts in Piazza Matteotti and, on New Year's Eve, live music followed by a DJ. In the municipality of Campo nell'Elba the celebrations are village affairs: Santa Lucia in Pomonte on 13 December, with Father Christmas arriving on a donkey, the Christmas Festival in Procchio on 21 December with its parade of decorated Ape three-wheelers, and "San Piero si illumina" in the hill village.
6 January: the Befana arrives by sea
Epiphany is the day the island does best. In Rio Marina the Befana arrives by sea, in the harbour, at around 11:30 am, preceded by the "Corri la Befanina" fun run and followed by food stalls and music in Piazza Mazzini. In Portoferraio the fire brigade lowers her from the roof of the Town Hall and in the afternoon, between the Linguella and Piazza Cavour, her effigy is burned with archers and firefighters: this is the "Brucia la Befana", at around 4 pm. In Capoliveri the party is in Piazza Matteotti from 2 pm, in Marciana Marina in Piazza della Chiesa from noon with a market and a best-dressed Befana contest, in San Piero at 4:30 pm in Piazza della Fonte. With a car you can catch two in one day: Rio Marina in the morning, Portoferraio in the afternoon.
At the table: schiaccia briaca and Aleatico
Elba's festive sweet is schiaccia briaca, a low, dense cake with no eggs and no yeast, packed with pine nuts, walnuts, raisins and almonds and "drunk" with Aleatico wine and alchermes liqueur, which give it its reddish colour. The recipe dates back to the era of Barbary raids, originally in an alcohol-free version, and was enriched with wine and honey in the 19th century; in Rio it was the gift given to those leaving for the sea. You find it in the bakeries and pastry shops of Portoferraio, Porto Azzurro, Capoliveri, Marina di Campo and Rio Marina, and it pairs with Elba Aleatico Passito DOCG. More on local flavours: herbs and local products of Elba.
Planning your stay
- Ferries: the Piombino–Portoferraio crossings run all year with reduced winter frequencies. On peak festive days book your car space in advance and allow a margin for sailings cancelled by strong winds. Details: how to reach Elba.
- Where to stay: a share of hotels stays open twelve months, mainly in Portoferraio, Capoliveri and Porto Azzurro; B&Bs and apartments must be checked one by one. Low-season rates, but availability for 31 December goes quickly: where to stay on Elba Island.
- Getting around: the festivities are spread across villages 30 to 40 minutes apart and buses run on winter timetables. A car is close to essential: car and scooter rental.
- What's open: Napoleon's residences in Portoferraio can be visited in winter too, the San Giovanni spa for most of the year; smaller museums and the mines by reservation only. Full overview: Elba in winter.
In short
Christmas and New Year on Elba are square and village festivities: the 31st in Portoferraio, living nativities in Marciana and Rio, the Befana arriving by sea in Rio Marina on 6 January, schiaccia briaca on the table. The 2026/27 programmes come out in December: book ferry, accommodation and dinner first, check the dates afterwards.