Published on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 by Kathy McCabe Gubbio, in the region of Umbria, is home to the world's largest Christmas tree. The tree of lights is 650 meters (or 2,130 feet) tall and takes 1,900 man hours to assemble on the side of Gubbio's Mount Ignacio. It was named the world's largest Christmas tree in 1991 by the Guinness Book of World Records. The tree tradition started in 1981 and in 2011, Pope Benedic...

Published on Monday, December 10, 2012 by Steve Christmas – it’s the  most magical time of year – and is  even more magical when you spend it in Italy. Christmas – or natale in Italian – still retains a very traditional feel in Italy. It hasn’t been tainted by too much commercialism. Christmas markets spring up in piazzas. The holiday market in Rome’s Piazza Navona is one of the most noteworthy...

Published on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 by Kathy McCabe I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I'm thrilled to have started a new video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. This week I'm talking about Christmas in Italy, traveling to Italy for Christmas, Italian holiday traditions and more. If you want to get into the Italian Chris...

Published on Sunday, November 20, 2011 by Kathy McCabe I'm just back from a few weeks in Italy where I saw the first signs of the holidays with Christmas trees in shop windows and a few presepi on display. A presepio is a creche or Nativity scene and  handmade versions by Italian artisans are an integral part of Italian Christmas celebrations.  If you will be in Italy during the holiday season, here are a few places to ...

Published on Sunday, November 13, 2011 by JacobMartin Plan to spend your Christmas in the beautiful country of Italy this year! With tradition in one hand and celebration in the other, no one can miss Christmas in Italy for their nativity in celebration. Normally, for people of all ages, Christmas is a festival of enjoyment and fun. If you spend your Christmas in a picturesque place like Italy, then it is surely an icin...

Published on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 by Kathy McCabe Anytime is a great time to go to Italy. There is no right or wrong month to visit the Italian boot. Italy is filled with tourists between June and September. So if you’re traveling during this period, expect to have plenty of company. You want to make sure that you’re either on an organized Italy tour or that you have booked all of your Italy travel arrangements a...