2023’s Top 5 Christmas Markets in Italy: A Festive Odyssey
During the season of Advent, Christmas markets pop up all over Italy. These markets celebrate a foreign tradition that is now celebrated everywhere. In some Alpine areas, like Trentino Alto-Adige, Advent markets have been around for a long time. These markets have been around since the Middle Ages in German-speaking areas. There are events like this that have been going on for a long time right in the middle of our peninsula.
We were saying that it is hard to choose when there is so much to go around. Here is a list of Italy’s five most beautiful Christmas markets. It’s hard to choose because there are so many good ones, but you have to begin somewhere. In any case, there are links at the end of the piece that will help you find all of Italy’s markets.
Trentino-Alto Adige: Bolzano
The must-see event of Advent comes to life in Bolzano (Bozen): the Christmas market, with all the usual feel of getting ready for Christmas. In the beautiful Piazza Walther, the smells of mulled wine and Christmas cookies blend with the sounds of moody music to create a one-of-a-kind harmony.
Even though the market is in the middle, there are some interesting places close that you can visit in between shopping. For example, the Archaeological Museum of Alto Adige is one of the most beautiful museum buildings in Italy. This museum is home to Otzi, the mummy of Similaun.
Trentino-Alto Adige: Trento
The market in the capital of Trentino has slowly grown until it is now one of the biggest in the whole Alpine area. If we leave out Alto Adige, Trento’s Christmas market is the biggest and most beautiful in Italy. Over ninety wooden houses can be found in both Piazza Fiera and Piazza Cesare Battisti. They offer traditional, handcrafted, and food-related goods to visitors.
Trentino-Alto Adige: Merano
The romantic setting of the Kurhaus and the Thermal Baths makes the Merano Christmas market, which is one of the must-sees in the whole Alpine area, feel like a scene from a fairy tale. Merano even has a name for its dedication to health and wellness, and its markets are a great example of this. They are situated between the Passeggiata Lungo Passirio, Piazza Terme, and Piazza della Renama. They have become a popular place to visit during Advent, and the markets of Bolzano are often visited on the same weekend.
At the market, some wooden houses are used by local crafters to sell a wide range of goods, such as candles, ceramics, Christmas decorations, glass baubles, wooden items, and, of course, nativity scenes.
Trentino-Alto Adige: Bressanone
The Christmas market in Bressanone, which takes place in the beautiful Piazza del Duomo, might be the most interesting in Alto Adige. With the Christmas lights that fill the medieval city with a haunting mood for the most beautiful time of the year, Advent is the start of a truly special time.
The Bressanone Christmas market is right in the middle of the city, and the vendors are there every day selling nativity scenes, wooden sculptures, handmade ceramics, candles, glass spheres, angels, and of course the delicious food that South Tyrol is famous for.
Emilia-Romagna: Grazzano Visconti
Tens of thousands of people visit the Grazzano Visconti Christmas markets every year from November to January. There’s no question that the small village in the province of Piacenza’s beauty helps to create a magical atmosphere. The craft booths and the chance to visit the nearby castle make the experience even better.
