If you happen to be in Italy in early January, you’ll notice that one image keeps popping up everywhere: colorful socks filled with sweets. You’ll see them in shop windows, hanging from balconies, decorating streets and cafés. Those stockings belong to La Befana, one of the most recognizable Christmas traditions in Italy, especially loved by children and families. It is celebrated on Epiphany Day, January 6, which also marks the end of the Christmas holidays.

In Italian folklore, La Befana is a familiar and affectionate figure. She’s usually portrayed as a very old woman with a long nose and a pointed chin, who visits children during the night bringing gifts. Her elderly appearance symbolizes the old year coming to an end.

Despite her broom, La Befana is not a witch in the Anglo-Saxon sense. She doesn’t wear a pointed hat. Instead, she wraps herself in a heavy scarf or wool shawl, tied under her chin. The broom is both a support and, according to legend, her means of flight.

On the evening of January 5, children hang their stockings by the fireplace, or anywhere around the house if there’s no chimney. By morning, they discover what La Befana has left behind: sweets, chocolates and candies for well-behaved children, or “carbone” (coal) for those who misbehaved a little during the year. Luckily, the coal is usually just coal-shaped sweets.

La Befana’s origins go back centuries. The ancient Romans believed that during the twelve nights following the winter solstice, mysterious female figures flew over cultivated fields to bless future harvests. These rituals celebrated the death and rebirth of nature, and from this imagery emerged the idea of a flying woman tied to renewal, abundance and good fortune.

In Italy, Epiphany has a special pull, drawing families into streets and squares filled with bonfires, costumes and centuries-old traditions.

In Verona, large bonfires are lit on the night between January 5 and 6. A straw effigy shaped like La Befana is burned to symbolically leave behind the troubles of the past year. Even the direction of the smoke is believed to hold meaning for good or bad fortune.

Urbania, in the Marche region, is often called the true capital of La Befana. From January 4 to 6, the town turns into a festive village dedicated entirely to her, complete with a symbolic house and a post office for children’s letters. The highlight is La Befana’s dramatic descent from the bell tower, a moment that never fails to amaze the crowd.

In Florence, the celebration takes on a historical tone with the Cavalcade of the Magi, a grand procession crossing the city center. In Venice, the Regatta of the Befane fills the canals with humor and spectacle. In Naples, festivities unfold around Piazza del Plebiscito with music, sweets and local flavors.

Rome is one of the most iconic places to experience La Befana. The city welcomes Epiphany with markets, parades and cultural events that bring extra life to the historic center.

The heart of the celebration is Piazza Navona, where the traditional market takes place among Bernini’s fountains. Here, La Befana becomes part of the daily stroll: families browsing stalls, children in costume, the smell of sweets in the air.

Events like the Viva la Befana parade, which winds through the city toward St. Peter’s Square, and special museum openings around January 6 make the experience even richer.

If you’re in Rome during the winter holidays and don’t want to miss traditions like La Befana, you can always reach us at info@citylightstours.com. We’ll help you shape an itinerary that lets you experience the city through its most loved customs, and not just its most iconic monuments.