December 2012 ~ Lazio Explorer

2012 was a quick year wasn't it? Only 18 posts (19 including this one). Must. try. harder. I guess we've been busy. It's been a great year though. Plenty of sagre, some wonderful trips, and some amazing people met along the way. Anyway, enough of 2012, here are our plans for the blog over the coming year. I can't promise we'll do them all, but hopefully we can tick some of them off the list, and you can see where we want to go with LazioExplorer.

Resolutions and plans for 2013:

From http://www.italytravelescape.com

1. An interactive map of Lazio. We hope to roll this out in the coming weeks. It'll be a google map, with links to blog posts from the various places. This is primarily to you help you, our dear reader, to navigate and explore Lazio (and our blog) better, but will also help us to see where the gaps are, and where to visit next.

2. A 2014 Lazio Explorer Calendar. There, I said it. We've always planned to do this, but have never got round to it. We want to do a calendar for ourselves, and family and friends, with photos of our favourite places in Lazio. Of course, we'll also place a link here if anyone wants to buy it (reasonably priced just to cover costs, of course).

3. To explore more. More of what? Well, everything. There are still many places in Lazio we haven't been. Plus, after brief flirtations with Tuscany, Campagna, Lombardia, Umbria, Emila-Romagna and the Veneto, I definitely want to explore Italy beyond Lazio. Plus, given my thing for train travel, I want to take the one of the frecce, or the new Italo trains. Anywhere.

4. A sagre app. I know. Where do we find the time? Well, this one is on our wishlist, rather than our 'to-do' list, but, given our love of sagre, and your love of sagre (those posts were some of our most viewed last year), we can see a good, well-written sagre app would be a good thing. We also think it would help all the Pro Loco to get the word out about their sagre and feste, so everybody wins. However, we don't know where to start. So... if you're an app developer (both iPhone and Android), or a Pro Loco organiser, get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

5. More book reviews. I've been quite bad this year. However, next year will be different, and I've got a reading list as long as my arm, so it's time to get reviewing again. As always, our reviews are impartial and personal, so you can always trust my opinion, if not necessarily agree with it.

So there you have it, five new year's resolutions. Of course, I don't think I'll be able to keep them all, but you can dream, right?

What about you? What plans do you have for the new year, or is there anything we have missed off our list that you would like us to try to do over the coming year?

It's that special time of year. Snow is falling, the kids are getting excited... and you've got a lot of presents to buy. But there's always time for a little sight-seeing, right?

Lazio is positively bursting with Christmas markets and fairs at this time of year. Stalls are full of locally-produced artisanal gifts, one-off pieces that can't be found in any shopping mall. So it's an ideal time to combine a little sight-seeing with that gift getting.

As long-time readers will know, one of the things I love about Italy at this time of year are the nativity scenes (presepi) that pop up in practically every town and village (see my post of the presepi I saw last year, for a taster). These can range from small, humble pieces to live presepe, where half the village gets in on the act.

So, here are our picks of the markets and presepi in Lazio this month:

Christmas market, Anguillara, Prov. di Viterbo 8th Dec - 6th Jan.

Anguillara sabazia, perched on the edge of lago di Bracciano, is hosting a Christmas fair, from December 8 to January 6th, with crafts, an antique fair, flea market, gifts, ethnic and speciality stands and even an ice skating rink! More information can be found here.

Natale nei Vicoli, Sant'Oreste, Prov. di Roma 8th Dec - 6th Jan.

Sant'Oreste, perched on the shoulder of Monte Soratte, about 40km north of Rome (on via Flaminia) is hosting 'Christmas in the streets', in the medieval old town. There are events on every weekend, including a visit to the wartime bunker under Monte Soratte, ordered by Mussolini himself. Click on the poster image below for more information.

Christmas market, Sacrofano, Prov. di Roma, 15th - 16th Dec.

Sacrofano, about 25km north of Rome, and easily accessible on the Roma-Civita Castellana-Viterbo trainline, is a charming medieval town. On the weekend of the market, there will be Christmas trees, chocolate tasting, candied sweets, arts and crafts, along with other food stalls, throughout the streets of the old town. More information can be found on their facebook event page.

Christmas market, Nazzano, Prov. di Roma, 15th - 16th Dec.

From 3-8pm on Saturday, and 10am-7pm on Sunday, Nazzano, situated about 40km north of Rome, will host its Christmas Arts and Crafts fair, with only handmade objects on sale. The fair will be in the Museo del Fiume.

Presepe vivente, Corchiano and Sutri, Prov. di Viterbo, 25th Dec - 6th Jan.

Presepi viventi, or 'living nativities' are a pretty big thing in Lazio. We went to the one in Sutri last year, where the presepe was set in the ancient etruscan caves just outside the town. We had a great time, there were lots of people dressed up, re-creating a whole town scene, cooking bread, making pottery, tending animals (and letting you stroke them) - it was a lot of fun, and all for about €5.

Presepe vivente, Greccio, Prov. di Rieti, 24th Dec - 8th Jan.

Greccio, twinned with Bethlehem (bizarrely), is a sleepy hilltop town nestled in the Monti Sabini hills. Every Christmas, the town comes alive with over 100 people involved in the living nativity. The nativity is split into six scenes, and has its origins in a cold Christmas Eve of 1223 when St. Francis of Assisi, on his return from Palestine, wanted to rebuild with the people and animals of the time the Nativity in Bethlehem. More information, in Italian, can be found on the Greccio ProLoco site.

These are just a selection. There are many more fairs, presepi and markets happening in and around Lazio over the coming month, such as those in the towns around Viterbo, as covered by Mary Jane Cryan. If you spot any other good markets, fairs or presepi in Lazio this year, feel free to add more in the comments section (or tweet/email me) and I'll add them to this post.

But what can you do if want to feel all Christmassy, but you don't have the time to leave Rome? A good place to start would be a recent post by Buzz in Rome, which covers the best decorations in Rome. If you need to do a little gift shopping in the eternal city, you should head over to Revealed Rome, where, among many other useful articles, Amanda's got gift-getting in Rome covered. With shopping sorted, you'll no doubt be thinking about food. Thankfully, Tavole Romane have thoughtfully provided an annotated list of all the best restaurants in Rome, that are open over the Christmas and new year period. Finally, don't leave Rome without taking part in some Roman Christmas traditions, such as the Piazza Navona Christmas market, or indulging in a slice of fluffy Pandoro. There. That's Christmas sorted.

This will most likely be my last post before Christmas (I've got to get gift shopping myself!), so all that remains is for me to thank-you for all your comments, tweets and friendship over the last year and to wish you a very, Merry Christmas!

Pete (aka LazioExplorer)

Lazio Explorer

Lazio Explorer : 2013 blog resolutions

Christmas fun in Lazio - markets, fairs, and more