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Italy1,562 places

Northern Lights in Italy: Where and When to See Them

From Italy the aurora is mostly a camera sight: in severe storms (about Kp 5 or more) a red glow rises low over the horizon, as it did in May and October 2024.

Where the aurora is easiest to see

PlaceRegionKp neededKp for photosMagnetic latitude
TrentoTrentino-South Tyrol9+5.341.2°
BolzanoTrentino-South Tyrol9+5.341.7°
UdineFriuli Venezia Giulia9+5.341.3°
BellunoVeneto9+5.341.3°
SondrioLombardy9+5.341.3°
TriesteFriuli Venezia Giulia9+5.740.8°
BresciaLombardy9+5.740.6°
MestreVeneto9+5.740.6°

Largest cities

PlacePopulationKp needed
Rome2,318,8959+
Milan1,371,4989+
Naples909,0489+
Torino847,2879+
Genoa580,0979+
Bologna394,8439+
Florence367,1509+
Bari316,4919+

Storm watch: can you see the northern lights from Italy?

Rarely, but yes. In strong storms (about Kp 5.3 or more) the red upper layer of the aurora, 300–400 km up, rises above the northern horizon of Italy. Phone and camera sensors pick it up far more easily than the eye.

…

PlaceKp for photosKp for the eyePhoto nights since 1995Last time
Trento 5.3 9+ 500 Oct 2026
Bolzano 5.3 9+ 502 Oct 2026
Udine 5.3 9+ 502 Oct 2026
Belluno 5.3 9+ 505 Oct 2026
Sondrio 5.3 9+ 499 Oct 2026
Trieste 5.7 9+ 349 Oct 2026
Brescia 5.7 9+ 346 Oct 2026
Mestre 5.7 9+ 346 Oct 2026
Monza 5.7 9+ 343 Oct 2026
Bergamo 5.7 9+ 343 Oct 2026
Vicenza 5.7 9+ 345 Oct 2026
Treviso 5.7 9+ 346 Oct 2026

When it was last seen from Italy

Nights with enough activity for photos from Trento during darkness (Kp 5.3 or more):

  • 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
  • 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
  • 18 August 2026 · Kp 5.3
  • 8 August 2026 · Kp 5.7
  • 3 July 2026 · Kp 5.3
  • 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
  • 4 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
  • 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
  • 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
  • 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0

How to catch it from Italy

  1. Watch the forecast: you need about Kp 5.3 or more — a strong to severe storm. These arrive a day or two after a big eruption on the Sun, so there is usually some warning.
  2. Get away from city lights and find an open view to the north: a coast, a hill or a field. The glow sits low over the horizon.
  3. Use your phone's night mode or a camera on a tripod (3–15 s). Check the photo: a red or pink sky to the north is the aurora.
  4. The best hours are usually 22:00–02:00 local time, but in big storms it can start right after dusk.
  1. Kp 0–2 Quiet Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
  2. Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
  3. Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
  4. Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) camera in Trento Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
  5. Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
  6. Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
  7. Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
  8. Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).

Live sightings

Where visitors are reporting the aurora right now. A place climbs with every report and drops again as the reports age.

  1. …

    Regions of Italy