Rome's Campo dei Fiori is the scene of a picturesque morning market with vegetables, spices, and flowers. This is a December flower display in the Campo dei Fiori market.
Previous Italy Travel Photos of the Week
Photo of flowers in Campo dei Fiori © Martha Bakerjian, licensed to About.com
Campo dei Fiori Flowers - Photo of the Week originally appeared on About.com Italy Travel on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 14:59:32.
Italy Eurail passes are 20% off through the end of 2009. If you're planning to travel by train in Italy in the next six months, you can take advantage of this sale. Details on Europe Travel blog: Italy Rail Pass: Eurail's Most Popular Is on Sale.
While I normally don't recommend Eurail passes for general train travel in Italy, the price of train travel recently went up so the pass could be worthwhile if you're traveling fairly long distances from city to city, like Rome to Milan or Venice. If you're taking short trips, especially on Intercity or regional trains, the pass probably won't save you money. For example a second-class ticket from Florence to Siena or Pisa is still only about 6 euro. Before you buy a Eurail pass, consider where you want to travel and check prices on Trenitalia, Italy's train site.
Italy Eurail Passes On Sale Now originally appeared on About.com Italy Travel on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 12:55:08.
Naples is famous for its elaborate nativity displays, or presepi, and the artisan workshops that produce high-quality figures and scenes for these nativities. Last week we visited several nativity workshops on our Neapolitan Christmas Traditions walking tour to find out more about this art form. We also took a look at presepi displays on our walks around Naples.
Take a virtual tour of Neapolitan presepe displays and workshops with our Naples Nativity Pictures.
Photo of Naples Duomo Presepe © 2009 by Martha Bakerjian, licensed to About.com
Naples Nativity Pictures originally appeared on About.com Italy Travel on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 10:16:51.
Rome is a top Italian city for travel during the Christmas season. From early December through Epiphany on January 6, Rome has a lively Christmas market, huge Christmas trees, lights, and beautiful nativity scenes. It's a fun place to be in December. Take a look at Rome in December with our Rome Christmas Pictures.
More: Rome Christmas Traditions | Rome Night Photos
Christmas Tree in Piazza Venezia Photo © 2009 by Martha Bakerjian, licensed to About.com
Pictures of Christmas in Rome originally appeared on About.com Italy Travel on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 04:13:48.
Just a couple of weeks ago we had unseasonably warm weather in the Lunigiana region of northern Tuscany but last night we had a rare but beautiful heavy snowfall. The first photo was taken from our balcony this morning and the photo below from our side window.
Much of northern and central Italy had snow yesterday including the cities of Venice, Florence, and Genoa and cold temperatures are forecast through the weekend.
Tuscany Snow Photos © 2009 by Martha Bakerjian, licensed to About.com
Snow in Tuscany originally appeared on About.com Italy Travel on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 04:50:10.
In Naples a presepe, or nativity scene, includes much more than just the traditional Christmas crib or manger. It's customary to include figurines representing people and places from daily life. Pulcinella is always a popular character but modern celebrities come to life here, too, and the artisans waste no time in capitalizing on current events.
On our recent visit to Via San Gregorio Armeno, the Naples street lined with nativity workshops, we saw statuettes of the Pope with a cast on his wrist, Berlucsoni with blood and a bandage on his head, Barack Obama (last year's favorite), and even nativity figures outfitted with bandannas covering their mouths to combat influenza. To me the most surprising was the statuette of Michael Jackson, this year's new presepe celebrity.
Wandering Italy blog has photos of the Michael Jackson and Berlusconi figurines and a video of mechanical moving presepe figures, popular with children.
Pulcinella Figurine Photo © James Martin, Europe Travel
What's New in the Naples Nativity Workshops? originally appeared on About.com Italy Travel on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 05:42:15.
In Italy gifts are traditionally delivered by la Befana on Epiphany although Babbo Natale, the Italian Santa Claus, is gaining in popularity. But Italian children don't write Christmas letters to either la Befana or Babbo Natale. In Rome children write their letters to Santo Bambino and put them in the basket in front of the statue in the Church of Santa Maria Aracoeli on the Capitoline Hill.
Rome Christmas Traditions has more about Santo Bambino and another photo.
Photo of Santo Bambino and Christmas Letters © Martha Bakerjian, licensed to About.com
To Whom Do Children in Rome Write Their Christmas Letters? originally appeared on About.com Italy Travel on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 13:47:58.
During Hanukkah a Menorah is set up near Bernini's Triton Fountain in Piazza Barberini, Rome. This year the candle on the first night was lit by the mayor of Rome.
Previous Italy Travel Photos of the Week
Photo of Menorah and Triton Fountain © Martha Bakerjian, licensed to About.com
Menorah in Piazza Barberini - Photo of the Week originally appeared on About.com Italy Travel on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 11:24:02.
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