LE FESTE AN ITALIAN STATE OF MIND
Italian Christmas can be intense: never ending family dinners, countless presents to open and endless traditions that NEED to be respected each year.
Italian Tradition Checklist:
You MUST eat fish on La Vigilia (Christmas Eve dinner)
You CAN and should switch to meat (cappelletti in brodo and cappone) for il pranzo di natale
IT’S a GOOD HABIT to wait till midnight on the 24th to open gifts
For New Years Eve, GET RID of something you don’t need anymore: out with the old and in with the new
WEAR SOMETHING NEW, even better if it’s red which is said to welcome the new year with health and safety!
EAT lenticchie at the stroke of midnight: may you have a lucky and wealthier year
BE AWARE of the weather for the first twelve days of the new year! Nonna teaches that each of the following days will predict weather for the twelve months ahead
NOT FEELING CHRISTMASSY YET?
If the Christmas spirit hasn’t hit you yet, we’re here to fix this!
Get started with holiday scents, like ORANGE ZEST or VIN BRULE’, that will bring back the best memories at any given time!
Take a look at the artisanal goods on display in your favourite pasticceria. You will find your mouth watering, probably followed by you taking a couple of Pandori’s or Panettoni’s home
We know December is sweet heavy, so don’t say no to some vintage sweets or a bar of silky Italian chocolate!
Take a stroll to some Christmas markets, listen to festive music and turn your Christmas tree lights on, you’re ready for the CENONE!
GET COOKING
The star of the show is, without a doubt, always the FOOD
Whether you’re a Christmas Eve dinner type of family, or you prefer Lunch on Christmas Day
You can’t escape the famous dilemma “Che ci mangiamo quest’anno?!”
Plan ahead with some of our favorite books,
take some inspiration from a typical Neapolitan Christmas menu: pizza di scarole, spaghetti a vongole and ‘a gallina a bror,
MAMMA MIA CHE GODURIA!
For something classic but never outdated? go for some Cappelletti all’uso di Romagna!
AFTER DINNER/LUNCH
If you no longer have room left in you, then it’s the right time for a DIGESTIVO!
After the five hour meal, it’s time to stretch your legs and take in some fresh air.
Head to your local bar, meet up with some friends for a tombolata and some Grappa.
Or, if you prefer, sip a standard negroni, or maybe a mistaken negroni sbagliato at Bar Basso
A perfect ending to an intense Italian Christmas dinner experience.
WINTER HOLIDAY GET AWAY
There’s something so secretly exciting about visiting somewhere new in freezing weather!
After a long, hot and crowded summer, villages reveal their true personality to the few fortunate winter visitors
See Sicily through a different perspective: a famous summer destination that hides a multitude of precious layers. A mediterranean land of passage, with a multiplicity of identities that constantly leave permanent marks to its cities and villages.
Off season is the best season
