Calcio Chills and Thrills Under the Lights… Five Serie A Trips to Make this Winter

There’s something about games under the lights that just hits different.

As autumn gives way to winter and the temperature dips, stadiums around Italy come alive with a combination of smoke, fog and fireworks cutting through the frosty air.

With that in mind, we’ve picked out five winter warmers that should sit high on the list for any calcio tourist planning a trip to the peninsula between now and January.

Parma vs Bologna – November 7

This one flies slightly under the radar when it comes to derby games, but make no mistake, it’s a fierce one. And being played under the lights at the intimate Stadio Ennio Tardini makes it all the more appealing.

Serie A kick-off times have been confirmed up until the second weekend in January, and six of Parma’s seven home games in that run are in the evening. There are plenty of opportunities to take in the Tardini by night, but the Derby dell’Emilia is the pick of the bunch. This is a tight ground with no running track and it generates a magnificent atmosphere. 

Tickets are sold through Parma’s website and you must register with Vivaticket. They normally go on sale about a week in advance but check the club website, especially for the Bologna game as it will be in demand

Parma has no airport, so the best route from the UK is a flight to Bologna then a car journey or train ride of about an hour.

Como vs Juventus – November 29

The upstarts against the established order. Thanks to Como surging towards the upper echelons of the calcio pyramid over the past couple of seasons, this is now a marquee fixture in the calendar. 

With the game played at night and the glare of the floodlights from the Stadio Sinigaglia illuminating the lake behind it, this is one not to be missed.

Cesc Fabregas’ men comfortably beat The Old Lady in the same fixture last season, can they do it again? Despite the drop in temperature as December approaches, and with the Sinigaglia parked on the edge of the water, inside the ground, especially at the Curva Como end, will be red hot. Wear a big coat, stick on a hat, and enjoy it.

Capacity at the Sinigaglia is around 13,000 and tickets for the bigger games sell quickly, so it is worth setting up an alert on the Como website.

There are regular flights to Milan from the UK and from there, the fastest train to Como takes about 40 minutes.

Napoli vs Milan – December 13

Going to see Napoli play should be on everyone’s bucket list, no matter the opponent, but when a traditional northern powerhouse is in town, it is all the sweeter. 

This fixtures conjures up memories of the late 1980s, when Diego Maradona duked it out with Arrigo Sacchi’s all-conquering Milan side at the top of the table. These two might not be climbing quite so high this season, but the clash will undoubtedly have the raw atmosphere Naples is famous for. 

The brutalist Stadio Diego Maradona will be a blend of fireworks, deafening noise and hostility. The perfect ingredients to warm up a cold night in Campania.

The weeks leading into Christmas is a great time to visit Naples, with Via San Gregorio Armeno (known as Christmas Alley) packed with visitors watching artisan workshops crafting handmade presepi (nativity scenes), mixing biblical and modern celebrity or political figures together.

Napoli have several night games over the course of the next three months, but if we had to pick just one, this would be it. Tickets go on sale through the club website about a week in advance, while international travellers can use P1travel.com. They are an official Napoli partner, but their tickets will cost more.

There are flights form the UK to Naples but the schedule is trimmed in winter.

Atalanta vs Napoli – December 20

Matches over the past few seasons between these two have been nothing short of brilliant, with the five-goal thriller in January 2025 in particular an instant Serie A classic.

When night falls over the New Balance Arena, expect temperatures to plummet as the Lombard fog descends down the Alps and the floodlights are turned on. 

Atalanta’s stadium, since being transformed, is one of the most modern and atmospheric in the country. Now morphed into an English-style ground, all the noise is contained and makes for a tremendous occasion, no matter the time of year. But under the lights is when the stadium truly shines (no pun intended).

Add to the mix Atalanta boss Maurizio Sarri squaring off against the club that most people still associate him with, following his three spell-binding years at Napoli in the mid-2010s, and this will certainly be one to watch.

You do not need to be an Atalanta member to buy tickets but members are given priority for the bigger fixtures. As for the travel, Bergamo Airport is well connected to the UK.

Inter vs Juventus – January 10

The biggest grudge match Italian football has to offer. The history between the teams means the Derby d’Italia is seldom boring, and always played out against constant noise.

And while it will be loud, given the cavernous nature of the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, it will also be cold in early January. So, layer up. Milan can be bitter even during the day at this time of year, but when the sun disappears and the lights come on, you will feel the chill. 

Yet, it’s almost impossible not to experience a special sort of glow once inside the grand old stadium, packed with 75,000 fans. Inter have several night games on the horizon, as do AC Milan, but this one tops the winter wish-list.

San Siro is a special place to visit anyway, but night games tend to be a different beast. The ground lights up like a spaceship, visible for miles, and as you climb to the upper tiers, the air becomes that little bit sharper, the noise that bit more deafening.

Flights to Milan are regular from the UK but tickets may be harder to come by unless you’re on the ball with the sales schedule. Register details on Inter’s official website and set up an alert for when the they go on sale. And like Napoli, Inter use P1travel, but again, tickets from there will cost more.