Venerdi Gnocolar

Venerdi Gnocolar

Verona, Veneto

Dove va il gonfalone va la processione. That’s Veronese dialect for “Where the banner goes, so goes the procession”, an expression that must have been coined for the Verona Carnivale parade, held on the last Friday before Lent. The banners there are joined by marching bands, majorettes, and huge mechanical floats too large to navigate… (more)

Advent Calendars

Advent Calendars

Bolzano/Bozen, Alto Adige/Südtirol

There’s a December tradition in the Tyrol to put an Advent Calendar in the windows of a building in town. A picture is revealed each day leading up to Christmas. Bolzano/Bozen, in the South Tyrol, enthusiastically embraces the tradition with a huge Advent Calendar put in the windows of a building down the street from… (more)

Christkindlmarkt

Christkindlmarkt

Bolzano/Bozen, Alto-Adige

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Bolzano/Bozen as tourists arrive from all over Italy for our traditional Christmas market, the Christkindlmarkt, a German-style Christmas market that isn’t typical elsewhere in Italy. Towering above the market stalls is a giant Christmas tree with plenty of twinkling lights. There’s a diverse selection of holiday… (more)