If you were at Borgo di Vagli in your Tuscan residence in the coming month, below are a few attractions to consider visiting.
Christmas Market
Santa Croce Square, Firenze
Florence 27th November – 22nd December 2014
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Since Italians don't have Thanksgiving to interfere, they get right down to business and start thinking about Christmas in mid November - the shops are already decorated and pushing their Christmas wares. By December the streets in the center are draped with lights and Piazza Repubblica and Piazza Duomo will put up their annual Christmas trees. But you really know Christmas is coming when Piazza Santa Croce sets up for the annual German Christmas Market (Heidelberger Weihnachtsmarkt), a German word that means Christmas market, has come to Santa Croce Square from the city of Heidelberg for years. The stands sell decorations for Christmas trees and homes, Christmas cakes such as Stollen accompanied by the restorative Glühwein (mulled wine); visitors will enjoy not only Christmas food but also German food (especially wurst and sauerkraut).
The biggest Christmas tree in the world
Gubbio
7th December 2014 – January 10th 2015
If you are in the Gubbio area of Umbria any time between mid-December and mid-January, and you think you see a huge Christmas tree -- but a really huge Christmas tree -- don't worry, it's not your eyes playing tricks on you. There is indeed a massive albero di natale conjured up from 450 colored lights and 12 kilometers of cable, cunningly placed all the way up the slopes of Monte Ingino, which towers above the city. Topped by a star that can be seen all the way from Perugia, some 50 kilometers away, the 800-metre high, 400-metre wide tree has been a typical yuletide feature of Gubbio since 1980. In 1991 the Guinness Book of Records named it "The World's Tallest Christmas Tree."
The Christmas Crib in the Well
Pozzo della Cava, Orvieto
December 23rd – 11th January 2015
The idea is a simple one: to recreate the environment and the atmospheres of Palestine in the year zero with life-size animated characters.
The crib can be viewed in the big Etruscan cave at the end of the underground archaeological itinerary of Pozzo della Cava, in the medieval district of Orvieto, in Umbria.
Every year costumes, furnishings and elements of scenery are made as closely as possible to the originals in the time of Christ, and every year it's a new challenge, with a new layout and a new leitmotif, with a careful eye for the visitor of the Christmas Crib, who is physically inside the crib.
Umbria Jazz Winter Festival
December 27th 2014 – 1st January 2015
The stage is set for the 22nd edition of the Umbria Jazz Winter Festival in Orvieto: five days of music with over one hundred events which combined make up one of the traditional dates of the Italian jazz calendar. The Festival is built around a successful tried and tested formula combining tourism and first-class music with the hospitality of one of the most beautiful towns in Umbria.
Firenze Winter Park
Lungarno Aldo Moro, Firenze
7th November 2014 – 1st March 2015
All ages will enjoy this array of winter sports as well as food, drink, exhibition stands and entertainment for children.
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