During my last full weekend in Italy, I visited my friend Laura where she lives in the Trentino-Alto Adige region. This region lies in the north of the country and it borders Switzerland and Austria. When I visited, we went to a few nearby towns and Christmas markets, and saw the snow, which was all very beautiful. I know this region pretty well because I have already visited Laura last year during the All Saint's Day holiday. However, I have never been to the Christmas markets here before because this was my first time visiting Laura in December.
This is the view of Laura's front yard. Her next-door neighbors are the Alps!
I arrived on Friday evening and on Saturday we took the tram to go to Cles, a town which Laura lives by. This is a photo of the tram station. Tramways are widespread in Northern Italy, particularly in this region and near Bolzano, as they make it easy to travel from town to town in these mountainous areas.
Cles is the main town of the Val di Non valley, located in the Trentino-Alto Adige region. It lies on the western side of Lake Santa Giustina and has about 7, 200 inhabitants. The village is known for its apple trees which grow Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and Rennet Canada apples. The brand name given to these high quality apples in the Val di Non valley are the Melinda apples.
Laura, her son, and I walked all around downtown Cles that afternoon and we also went inside a cafe to drink hot chocolate together because it was so chilly!
In one of the churches we entered we saw a huge nativity scene, known as a presepio in Italian. These manger scenes are very popular in churches and in homes in Italy during Christmastime.
Santa Maria Assunta Parish Church in Cles
The sunset as we were walking around Cles
Cles also had some Christmas decorations up, including these two beautiful trees.
Laura's son, me, and Laura
The next day, Sunday, Laura and I went on a walk in the morning. There is a biking and walking trail outside of her house in these vineyards surrounded by the mountains. It was cold and a little bit windy that morning, but still a very pretty and peaceful walk.
In the afternoon, Laura's other son and his family came over for lunch and they brought these treats with them. They were quite decadent indeed!
Later that day we went to a town called Levico, which had Christmas markets that we saw. There was also more snow in this town than in Cles or in the town where Laura lives.
As we walked around Levico, we saw another huge presepio and this time it was outside! We stood there for a few minutes, just admiring the tiny houses and figurines, all created for this outdoor nativity scene. I also wrote in a book that the nativity scene was very well done. I signed my name and where I'm from.
We saw horse-drawn carriages around the market as well.
These wooden booths are called bancarelle, which characterize the Christmas markets in Levico and the surrounding region. Located in Habsburg park, the Levico Christmas market runs from mid-November to January 6th. All of the booths sell a variety of handcraft and culinary delicacies, like Christmas decorations, gifts, and traditional dishes of the Trentino region, such as polenta, local cheeses, and meats. We got fried apples with powdered sugar on top and they were delicious!
The bancarelle of the Levico Christmas Market
Seeing the snow on the trees and the sunset as we walked around the market made everything look like a Christmas card!
As we walked back to the car, we also saw a big ornament with lights on it that people could take photos in. This decoration as well as the other Christmas lights made Levico have a very charming atmosphere that night.
The next day was Monday, my last day with Laura and her family. Since my train was that evening, we went to Trento, the capital of the Trentino-Alto Adige region, in the afternoon to also visit the Christmas market there.
This is the main square in Trento, Piazza del Duomo, with its huge Christmas tree.
The Trento Christmas market is very well-known, and is one of the best Christmas markets in all of Italy. Like that of Levico's, this Christmas market has many stalls which sell artisanal and handmade decorations and gifts, as well as typical food of the region. I tried mulled wine at this market, known in Italian as vin brûlé.
Here are a variety of Christmas ornaments. Something to know about the Trento Christmas market is that it is a 'green market.' It places great importance on sustainability and tries to minimize its negative impact on the environment as much as possible.
Different types of soap shaped as flowers and roses
Different figurines and animals all carved from wood. I got a wooden bookmark from this booth.
Cattedrale di San Vigilio, Duomo di Trento
After walking around the Christmas market, we went to Piazza Dante, which is by the bus and train stations. Here you can find an impressive statue of Dante, as well as a pond with ducks swimming in it. Right now they have a big ferris wheel and more wooden booths that display Santa's workshop and house.
And that's pretty much it for my stay with Laura! I love visiting her because she lives in a beautiful part of Italy. The Christmas markets you find here during this time are especially charming and delightful -- this region really knows how to do Christmas right!
That evening, I took a train from Trento to Bergamo, and I returned to Gazzaniga that night. On Tuesday, I prepared and packed for my journey home. I flew from Milan to New York to Atlanta on Wednesday and finally got back to Atlanta on Wednesday night. Fortunately, this flight went a lot smoother than my flight to Milan. The television on my plane worked, and I got my baggage when I arrived in Atlanta, unlike when I arrived in Italy in September. So that was a success! It's the simple things that count the most, right?
Here is the view from the window on my flight from Milan to New York.
All in all, I loved my past 3 months in Italy. They were filled with many travels and fun experiences with my host families, students, and colleagues. It was wonderful living with 2 host families to see how life is done in Italy in different ways, and to improve my Italian. I also loved working at the 4 schools in my village as an English Teaching Assistant, and saw real progress in my students' English by the end of my time there.
Of course, living abroad isn't always easy as there are feelings of homesickness and loneliness to deal with. Moreover, as I was improving my Italian, I was still trying to keep up and practice my French too, which wasn't the easiest. But despite these challenges, I am so grateful to have lived in the lovely community of Gazzaniga and to have explored that region of Italy more. The Italian language, culture, and people have a special place in my heart and I hope to be back there one day. A presto, Italia!
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