Naples is the Italian city traditionally associated with dropping old household items from windows on New Year’s Eve. The custom symbolizes discarding the old year and making a fresh start.
Objects described in accounts have included small possessions, crockery, and furniture. The practice has long been linked with southern Italian New Year customs, especially in Naples, although modern public-safety concerns have made the dramatic version less common and less acceptable in many places. Celebrations today more often use fireworks, music, and symbolic gestures.
The tradition is sometimes exaggerated in popular descriptions as though every resident throws large furniture into the street. In reality, the custom varied by neighborhood, period, and household, and local authorities have warned against dangerous objects. Naples is also known for the use of red clothing and festive foods around the holiday, but those customs are separate from the window-dropping tradition.