Just received the In Rome Now newsletter with the following info, perhaps of interest to those who are traveling here in December. Any Rome-bound travellers might benefit from subscribing to the monthly newsletter on their website.
In Rome, there are all sorts of charity bazaars and Christmas markets. The most famous, at the Piazza Navona, looks dicey. As we post this, the whole thing has been shut down on corruption charges. But the Christmas markets will go on again this year at Piazza Mazzini and Piazza Re di Roma. The 18th edition of the KIMArte-Mercatino di Natale takes place at Sala Mazzoni, Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano 78, Saturday-Sunday, December 12-13, 10 am - 8 pm, with some 30 exhibitors, offering handmade gifts, jewelry, cosmetics, art, organic food products, and games for the kids. The bar on the ground floor of the center will offer a special family lunch with a kid's menu. We never miss the Emergency Christmas Market, filled with handmade items, foodstuffs, jewelry, gifts big and small. The proceeds benefit an important charity, providing free medical care to civilians caught in the crossfire of war. The temporary Emergency shop this year is at Via IV Novembre 157, just up the road from Piazza Venezia, through December 24 and from January 3-24.