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Visit Florence during the holidays and you will find it at its most magical. Festive lights decorate the streets of the cradle of the Renaissance, while quaint Christmas markets are set up in the piazzas of the historic center. The official starting date for the Christmas celebrations is, like for many Italian cities, December 8, which is a nationa...

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ANDREA BOCELLI performed in a festive Christmas concert with his 8-year-old daughter Virginia Bocelli last year, and the tenor has now revealed how a performance that began as almost a joke turned into “a moment that I carry in my heart.” Andrea Bocelli found innovative ways to give live-streamed performances around the world last December, when mu...

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Christmas is a time for celebration, but how we celebrate has changed over the centuries. How do you celebrate Christmas? Do you embrace the more secular version embodied by Santa Claus with his big bag of presents, or the more religious one in which gifts are given in recognition of God’s gift to us of His Son Jesus Christ? One tradition I embrace...

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The holiday season is coming, don't be caught unprepared! Our Grinch-proof vademecum reveals the essentials about Christmas Italian style. The typical ingredients of Christmas movies are all there: festive markets, the scent of ginger and cinnamon in the cold December air, Winter Wonderland lights and festoons and the frantic rush for presents. Yet...

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We accept it. We acknowledge it. We recognise the absurdity of it; for many, there’s only one way to ‘enjoy’ Prosecco this Christmas, and that’s to drink it. Six ways? That’s pushing it… But to dismiss Prosecco as purely a quick, quaffable drop is to ignore just how versatile this incredible sparkling wine can truly be. In the right hands (ideally...

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A floating Nativity scene has been installed in the waters around the island of Burano, in the northern part of the Venice lagoon, for the second year in a row. The magical spectacle, comprising 62 wooden shapes representing Nativity figures and animals, is located in an open stretch of water, without hindering boat traffic. Inaugurated on 7 Decemb...

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Italy takes the idea of food to a whole new level, and it doesn't necessarily take someone who has been there to confirm that. Anyone who's part of an Italian family likely knows that when the holidays come around, the scene is set for drama, flavor, and extravagant food. After all, this is the same country that brought us the Feast of the Seven Fi...

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Join award-winning singer and PBS/TV Host for Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble and Il Volo, Cristina Fontanelli www.cristinafontanelli.com for her beloved holiday program of Italy’s best-loved songs, arias, and Neapolitan and Christmas classics in her 18th Annual “Christmas In Italy®” show at the historic Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood in Li...

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Here is how houses and cities are decorated in Italy With the beginning of the month of December in many Italian cities people start to prepare their Christmas decorations. There are so many traditions that have been carried on for years. In fact the beginning of Christmas preparations coincides traditionally with the date of 8th December on occasi...

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Many legends revolve around the origins of panettone. First of all regarding Toni, the scullery boy in Ludovico il Moro’s kitchen who sacrificed his yeast on Christmas Eve to remedy the damage done by the Sforza head chef, giving life to the first great leavened product (the name would derive from “pan de Toni”). The true story, however, starts fro...

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