Hello :) 10 night Italian Christmas city ideas/opinions

Back in December 2012, we started in Rome for a few days, then flew to Sicily. We rented a car at the Palermo airport, which is west of the city, and drove west. So we didn’t even go into Palermo. We stopped at the ancient Greek sight at Segesta en route to Erice, where we spent a night, above Trapani. We then drove south, to Agrigento, with the Greek Valley of the Temples. Working our way counter clockwise around Sicily, we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night at an agriturismo, then Caltagirona, the fascinating Villa Romana del Casale at Piazza Armerina, the chocolate destination of Modica, and Taormina. You could fly back to Rome from Catania (or Palermo), but we had extra time, so we took the car ferry from Messina back to the mainland and drove north from there. Besides Palermo, that trip didn’t fit in Syracuse, Ortigia, going up Mt. Etna, or Cefalu.

The roads in Sicily are great, towns are all decorated with lights and Christmas presepi, and there’s much less crowding than in other parts of Italy, even with the holidays. Extremely friendly Sicilians.

Have you thought about heading south to Naples and Matera? Interesting area that from your list you haven’t visited.
For a Christmas theme, via S. Gregorio Armeno in Naples is a short street where most of the shops sell nativity figurines and sets. I was looking for paper mache figurines to complete my parents’ set from the ‘50s but these were made from clay and were a little too rustic for my taste.
The Sassi area in Matera is very old and predates Christmas by several 1000 years. You can stay in one of the cave hotels. If it’s rainy take care on the slick cobblestones.

Wow. You have really seen a lot of Italy. Have you seen any of these places? Do they have anything worth seeing?

Ancient Pompeii and/or Herculaneum,
the archaeology museum in Naples
Sicily (Palermo, Syracusa, whatever else), ancient Greek temples in Sicily
Ravenna (capital of Ancient Rome from 408 AD to 476)

The micro-country of San Marino
The archaeology museum in Bolzano in the German-Speaking region of South Tyrol in north-west Italy, which has the remains of Otse the Iceman?
Verona in Northern Italy?

What about another country? Malta or Greece? Switzerland or near the Mediterranean like France or Spain? Is Morocco safe enough enough? Was western Turkey destroyed by a recent earthquake or is it a place open to Travel?

Thank you for all the comments so far :)

We will consider all of those places.

We will only visit Italy this trip.

We are looking mostly for Italian cities that decorate and celebrate Christmas.

We have not been to Verona yet.

We have been in Naples very briefly.

Thank you again! :)

Hello :)

Any other suggestions?

Thank you in advance.

:)

I highly recommend visiting the Italian Alps during the Christmas season. So beautiful! There are several lovely Christmas markets in South Tyrol. Consider visiting Bolzano, Merano, Vipiteno and Brixen as well as our favorite Christmas market at Lago di Carezza in the Dolomites. Depending on the timing of your trip you can also participate in a Krampus Run in Margreid, Toblach or Castelrotto. Such a fun tradition! Wherever you decide to go, have a wonderful trip!

Hello Everyone :)
We have lost a few family members in the last few months :( and I haven’t been on this forum since February. I thought I would reactivate this thread because I am still looking for more advice/thoughts/opinions in regards to what cities we should visit during Christmas of 2024.
Thank you in advance :)

I'm glad you came back and sorry for your losses.

In 2016, during a long trip in Emilia Romagna, we spent 4 nights in late December in a tiny town in the mountains called Portico di Romagna. We actually went there to go on a truffle hunt with a dog that was the same truffle-hunting Italian breed as our dog (Lagotto Romagnolo), but we were surprised and overjoyed to find out once we were there that this entire town was filled with creative and often unusual and amusing nativity scenes (presepi). On the weekend, the town had many visitors and some special events and street food, but on the weekdays we loved walking all alone along the pedestrian-only streets that were lined with the presepi that the townspeople had made and also checking out the larger ones made by artists and school classrooms and various organizations. Just for one example, there was a manger scene, made out of scrap pieces of lumber and discarded electronic devices, showing the baby Jesus surrounded by a crowd of people pointing their cell phones at him. Another was made out of musical instruments, another from broken pottery, another from seashells and pinecones. Here's a website with a few photos from 2014 --- clearly, the town displays different presepi each year: https://pretapartirconchiara.com/portico-di-romagna-paese-presepi/

There's also a nice little bridge in the town.

Our hotel was the excellent Al Vecchio Convento which also has a really good small restaurant: https://www.vecchioconvento.it/en/blog/presepi-artistici-e-mercatini-a-portico/

While in Portico di Romagna, we drove to Brisighella to see if we could find the restaurant where we ate in 2001 --- no, but we enjoyed exploring the town anyway, especially the 2nd floor indoor donkey street.

On this same trip, we also spent 5 nights in Ravenna, which I don't see on your list. We did some day trips from there, like to Comacchio, Faenza, and Cesenatico. I don't know what your interests are in addition to Christmas, but if you like food, art, and church architecture you could stay in Parma or Modena, or for a larger place, Bologna. My family will be in Bologna for Christmas and the week after Christmas this year, so I'll be able to tell you what that city is like at Christmas time after the trip.

Hi Nancy :)
Thank you!
Ravenna has been on our radar.
I appreciate all of your input and I will look forward to your report from your upcoming Christmas trip.
Have a great trip!
:)

You left Verona off your list. It has a great Christmas Market, as do Trento and Bolzano.

I’ve heard Naples has a great New Years celebration.

Thank you everyone! :)

At Christmas Italians traditionally look north to the Alps for skiing, snow, mountain atmosphere.
You have already travelled extensively in the centre and north. In December it'll be chilly and dark early. I would head south where the days are longer and temperatures milder
and investigate Sicily or Puglia, both fantastic regions for culture art architecture and food.
Puglia: Bari, Romanesque architecture, churches, Trani, Polignano, Monopoli and of course Matera nearby (Basilicata not Puglia)
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/11/puglia-bari-in-april-trip-report.html?m=1

Sicily..... everywhere....

The trio of Ravenna, Ferrara and Padua would be simple, geographically. Time permitting, you could include day trips to Vicenza and/or Verona.

I can't tell you whether any of those places makes a special effort to decorate for Christmas.