Il Natale passa da AcQui
Acqui Terme's Christmas season: nearly two months of festive lights, market stalls and shopping across Piazza Italia and the centre, with an ice rink, Father Christmas's house and the Pro Loco's big international nativity exhibition.
Why it's special
The town wraps the whole centre in lights from late November into January, and the season's centrepiece is the Mostra Internazionale del Presepio — over 200 nativity scenes from around the world, an exhibition now decades old, shown at the Movicentro.
Programme · 2025
Billed as "Dolce Natale ad Acqui Terme" (main programme 1 December – 6 January): lights and themed decorations, music, tastings of Monferrato products in bars and restaurants, Christmas photo spots, and a "Golden Pass" from participating shops for a free visit to the Tesori di Acqui Terme.
- Bring the kids for the ice rink and the Casetta di Babbo Natale in Piazza Bollente (weekends up to Christmas).
- The Mostra Internazionale del Presepio runs at the Movicentro, roughly 6 December to 6 January — worth the visit on its own.
From late November into January, Acqui Terme turns on its Christmas season — "Il Natale passa da AcQui" — and wraps the centre in lights. Piazza Italia and the old streets fill with market stalls and shopping, there's an ice rink and a Casetta di Babbo Natale in Piazza Bollente on the run-up weekends, and the Comune lays on events through the holidays.
The centrepiece is the Pro Loco's Mostra Internazionale del Presepio — an international nativity exhibition, over 200 cribs from around the world in glass, terracotta, wrought iron and ceramic, some huge and some a few centimetres tall. Now past its 35th edition, it's shown at the Movicentro, roughly 6 December to 6 January, and is worth the trip on its own.
The name shifts from year to year (the 2025–26 season was "Dolce Natale ad Acqui Terme"), and the shape is familiar: in 2025 the lights went on in Piazza Italia on the Saturday of the Acqui & Sapori truffle weekend (they will again in 2026), the rink opened a week later, and the season ran to Epiphany with the traditional concerts before Christmas, on Santo Stefano and on 6 January. Check the town's Christmas site for the current programme. See Acqui Terme for the spa town, and warm up afterwards at La Bollente.
More events in Monferrato in November 2025 →
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Past editions
| Year | Dates | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22 November 2025 – 11 January 2026 | Billed as "Dolce Natale ad Acqui Terme" (main programme 1 December – 6 January): lights and themed decorations, music, tastings of Monferrato products in bars and restaurants, Christmas photo spots, and a "Golden Pass" from participating shops for a free visit to the Tesori di Acqui Terme. Sat 22 November – 18:00 switch-on of the street lights and Christmas tree in Piazza Italia. 29 November – 11 January – ice-skating rink in Piazza Italia (open daily 11:00–23:00 from 20 December to 6 January). 6 December – 6 January – 36th Mostra Internazionale del Presepio at the Movicentro (Pro Loco di Acqui Terme): weekends until 21 December, then daily from 24 December; free-will offering. December weekends – Casetta di Babbo Natale and "La Tana del Grinch" in Piazza Bollente, the Christmas trenino, pony rides, creative workshops and street shows in the centre. Sun 14 December – Librando book market with Christmas hobby stalls under the Corso Bagni arcades. Sun 21 December – 54th "Auguri alla Città" Christmas concert, Chiesa di San Francesco (Corale Città di Acqui Terme). Wed 24 December – Babbi Natale gathering and parade in Piazza Bollente; "Sparkling Christmas" aperitivo in the town's bars. Fri 26 December – 28th traditional Santo Stefano concert, Chiesa di San Francesco; special opening of the Archaeological Museum at the Castello dei Paleologi. Tue 6 January – traditional Epiphany concert in the Duomo (Corale Santa Cecilia). |
| 2024 | 30 November 2024 – 25 January 2025 | Festive lights and decorations across Piazza Italia and the historic centre, with market stalls, shopping and special events run by the Comune di Acqui Terme. Ice-skating rink and a Casetta di Babbo Natale (Father Christmas's house) in Piazza Bollente, weekends from early December to 24 December. Mostra Internazionale del Presepio — over 200 nativity scenes, at the Movicentro, 6 December to 6 January, organised by the Pro Loco di Acqui Terme. |