A Small Town Christmas Experience

Christmas in Italy is mostly and foremost a family occasion, focused more on the 25th than the 24th, and it is unlikely there will be any "Christmas experience" in a hilltown except many stores closed (and restaurants needing advance booking).

The previous poster is correct, in that Christmas and Easter are all about a family celebration. You will see, of course, the Creche outside of the local church and town square (with no protesting from the Atheists!), and attend a lovely Mass, but everything in a small town will be closed. I spent Easter week this year in Rome and found it amazing! I'd love to do Christmas there some day as well. I stayed in a hotel across from the Vatican and found the whole celebration to be extremely moving. Needed advance reservations from the U.S. for Dinner on Sunday AND Monday (since
that is also a holiday. Florence would also be nice. I know of a company in Sicily (Taormina) which rents apartments, and Taormina also has a lovely Christmas celebration. You can PM me if you'd like the info.

I have posted this before, but maybe you will find it useful if you have not seen it.
We were in Rome last Dec 22-31 and traveling in Italy the entire month of December. (We moved here last May). Rome is amazing at Christmas! The 24th - 26th take some planning, but there's plenty to do. The 24th we spent the morning at the Borghese, shopped, had lunch, rested up, went to church (English langauge service) at 6:30PM, then dinner at 8:30, followed by a nice walk to see more lights. The city is so decked out at Christmas! A very nice day. A very Roman thing to do is have a fish-based multi course feast on the 24th. The 25th we cooked a nice American breakfast, then took a walk through the ghetto where it was pretty much business as usual. Lots of people were out and about. The ghetto was a great choice for dinner, too, but make a reservation because a lot of Italians dine out for Christmas! There are two precipi (nativity scene) museums open on Christmas Day so we visited one in early evening, taking in the lights at Piazza Venezia as well. The 26th we took a self-guided walking tour up the Gianicolo to Villa Doria Pamphilj, then toured the Palatine and Forum in the afternoon. We were exhausted! The point is, with planning, there is plenty to do even if some sites aren't open. Just walking (check out the book "24 Great Walks in Rome" for ideas ) is entertainment. As the holidays approach there will be lists of restaurants open, special exhibits, etc.

Some resources to help you if you go to Rome for Christmas. (I tried to embed the links but they soudl not post correctly. Sorry!) One blog to watch is www.parlafood.com. Katie always lists great ideas especially for dining. I also like www.romerevealed.com for ideas and current events. Oh, and on the 26th, Via Fori Imperiali is closed to traffic and is thronged with Romans enjoying the passagiata. Quite the scene. As to accommodations, we rented an apartment near Campo dei Fiori and it was perfect! Great to have a small kitchen, washer, and space to hang out.

We stayed in San Gimignano the week of Christmas 2010. All I can say, it was Magical!! We stayed at L'Antco Posso. The hotel made us reservations for Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Eve Mass was spectacular. We did a day trip to Volterra..beautiful. when we were leaving, they even gave us a recomendation for a hotel in Ravenna. The hotel is very charming. Remember that most places are also closed on the 26th. National Holiday, St. Stephens Day. We did not see many tourist in town at around lunch time.