In Sorrento the last day of the year has an unusual star: the Ciuccio di Fuoco, a little donkey loaded with fireworks that stands for the year that is ending. According to the town's elders, the custom began in the 1950s among workers at a carpentry shop near today's Piazza Veniero, who dragged a donkey made of workshop scraps towards Piazza Tasso.
Today the parade, with musicians and folk groups, reaches Piazza Tasso in the late afternoon, where the donkey is lit amid cheers and bangs: burning it means leaving the bad things behind. Late at night come the fireworks over the sea at Marina Piccola and the party in the square.
The 2026 programme is not out yet. We suggest reaching the square a little early to get a good spot.