San Gregorio Armeno, the street of the shepherds of Naples, opens its doors to Neapolitans and tourists for the traditional Christmas fair.
In the historic center of Naples begins the 147th edition of the Christmas Fair of San Gregorio Armeno. In the ancient heart of the city, along the road of the shepherds, the traditional Christmas stalls full of shepherds and decorations for the crib will be there from Saturday, November 17, 2018 until Epiphany.
Hundreds of Christmas stalls and prestigious shops of the great masters of nativity art participate this year in the traditional Christmas Fair of San Gregorio Armeno with their handmade creations and with many novelties.
The inauguration of the Fair will be held Saturday 17 November 2018, at 17.00, in the charming Piazza San Gaetano, a place that houses the statue and the Sanctuary with the remains of the Saint who “invented” the Presepio and the fair will be blessed by the parish priest of the Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore.
This year to color even more the Christmas atmosphere made in Naples there will be ‘o Pazzariello who will walk through the alleys of San Gregorio Armeno, entertaining among pastors and cribs the many Neapolitans and tourists who will crowd the old town.
Another novelty is a presalbero, that is the traditional Neapolitan nativity scene developed inside the Christmas tree. The presalbero is a work by the master Aldo Vucai that contains the two great Neapolitan Christmas symbols in a single creation.
Christmas 2018: 800,000 visitors are expected at San Gregorio Armeno
Also this year more than 800,000 visitors are expected for the Christmas period in the area of San Gregorio Armeno for the Christmas fair and there will be a close collaboration between traders and traffic wardens to regulate the flow.
The firemen, thanks to a memorandum of understanding with the merchants, in addition to surveillance of the area in case of overcrowding of the alleys, will intervene with the temporary establishment of the single pedestrian way and can also order, in exceptional cases, the temporary eviction of the stalls .
In the area there will be an absolute ban on parking and stopping for cars and motorcycles. Unfortunately, this year the project presented by the associations of the nativity cribs who wanted to start the fair on the first of November and to realize the stalls, all of wood painted in Pompeian red, will not be implemented.