Via San Gregorio Armeno

Street Naples, Italy

Via San Gregorio Armeno is a street in the historic center of Naples, famous for tourism for its crib craft shops. The ancient shops that show off the masterpieces of Neapolitan crib art follow one another in this colorful street. You will be able to buy entire nativity scenes or individual figurines full of details.

A tiny alley in Naples Centro Storico, along with the fish market at Porta Nolana, Via San Gregorio Armeno is the heart and soul of the Neapolitan Christmas. And by the first week of December, it is jam-packed with shoppers seeking to add to their nativity scenes and thousands upon thousands of curious tourists. Open year round, I’m lucky enough to get to enjoy it without the crowds. But San Gregorio Armeno has a one of a kind vibe at Christmastime that never fails to entice. An ancient, narrow alley from the street plan laid down by the Greeks of the 5th Century BC. Either side lined by tall, dark palazzos creating an eerie dusk-like quality that glows with twinkling Christmas lights and street and shop lights. A sea of temporary stalls carved into every alley, every palazzo, every conceivable open space adding another dimension to the permanent shops that ply their trade year round.