{"id":3900,"date":"2014-12-13T18:18:41","date_gmt":"2014-12-13T17:18:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=3900"},"modified":"2021-09-12T15:43:22","modified_gmt":"2021-09-12T13:43:22","slug":"family-christmas-in-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/family-christmas-in-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"A Family Christmas in Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ah, a family Christmas in Rome, what could be more enchanting? The market in Piazza Navona, the lights running down Via del Corso, the presepi in every church. Bello!<\/em><\/p>\n

Sure, \u201cbello,\u201d but the kids get bored easily, so what do you do for the other 29 days or so during the holiday season?<\/p>\n

Fortunately I ran into Shannon Kenny from Italiakids<\/em> in Rimini a couple years ago. And although I know Rome quite well, I don\u2019t have the slightest idea of how to amuse the bambini. I\u2019d better learn fast\u2014my little principessa is already four years old, and completely fascinated by the lights, the decorations, and the fat guy dressed in red (she loves to jump up\u00a0on his lap and yank REALLY HARD on his beard!)<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m turning my blog over to Shannon today, and she\u2019s going to tell all of us anxious parents how to keep the ragazzini viziati<\/em> occupied during the holidays. Here’s her advice…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"family<\/a>Rome displays all of its urban finery during the holidays, a fun season for families to visit the Eternal City, when the weather is likely to be mild, and the streets are alive with lights, whimsical decorations, processions and fairs, and even a Babbo Natale (Father Christmas) here and there descending from a shuttered window.<\/p>\n

Italians celebrate the Christmas season through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6,<\/strong> when the legendary La Befana, an old woman who rides on a broom, delivers toys and treats to the shoes left out by good boys and girls, or coal for the kids who have misbehaved during the year. Piazza Navona plays host every year during this time to the La Befana Christmas market, where families will find rows of market stalls displaying candied nuts, chocolates, roast chestnuts, and seasonal handicrafts and gifts.<\/p>\n

Among my daughters\u2019 favorite items here are the giant donuts<\/strong> (big enough for two!) and the stalls with figurines and decorations for making your own presepe (Nativity scene), along with the antique carousel. Piazza Navona is the site of two of our favorite toy shops, flanking either end of the oval-shaped piazza.<\/p>\n

Across Bernini\u2019s Bridge of Angels in the play park next to Castel Del\u2019Angelo the city sets up a temporary ice rink<\/strong>, where families can skate to music with a view of the castello. Rental skates are available. The Parco della Musica, just outside the center, also sets up an outdoor ice rink as part of its Christmas Village festivities. The Christmas Village includes a wide range of daily children\u2019s events, with a circus tent and a children\u2019s theater<\/strong>, along with performances by children\u2019s choirs and orchestras.<\/p>\n

In fact, throughout the city you will find children\u2019s venues with family-friendly performances. Your holiday wouldn\u2019t be complete without a concert or theatrical event, such as a puppet show. A few good English-language sources for events in Rome include Italiakids.com<\/a>, Wanted in Rome<\/a>, and In Rome Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our family also enjoys the simple entertainment of taking in the holiday lights, dining at a trattoria among the delicate white lights strung throughout the medieval streets<\/strong> around Campo de\u2019 Fiori or gazing at the grand lights illuminating the fashion houses in the Spanish Steps shopping area around Via Condotti. The kids can snap photos of soaring Christmas trees placed in almost every piazza, perhaps most famously in front of the Coliseum.\"family<\/a><\/p>\n

The whole family will enjoy a visit to the exhibition of hundreds of antique presepi <\/em>in Piazza del Popolo<\/strong> at the Sale del Bramante in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo. Or the kids can make their own Nativity scenes and learn how Rome has celebrated the season since antiquity at the Arte al Sole<\/a> arts and cultural holiday workshops in English near Piazza Navona. Parents can drop off their children to have fun exploring Rome\u2019s art and history through seasonal projects from 9:30-3:00, giving parents time to do some secret shopping, tour a museum, or enjoy a long Roman lunch.<\/p>\n

Just around the corner from here near Via del Governo Vecchio, rest your feet from shopping with tea and hot chocolate at the Chiostro del Bramante<\/strong>, a magical medieval cloister with a caf\u00e9 on the second level. The museum also hosts special children\u2019s events and courses just above the caf\u00e9 throughout the year.<\/p>\n

From ice skating, to echoes of choral ensembles resounding from churches, or the anticipation of the revealing of the manger scene in front of St. Peter\u2019s at midnight on Christmas Eve, enjoying Rome\u2019s holiday festivities makes for an especially memorable family Christmas in Rome!<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/h3>\n

Shannon Kenny is Editor-in-Chief of Italiakids.com<\/a>, an online resource for families traveling in Italy, Director of the children\u2019s cultural program Arte al Sole<\/a>, with 6 locations in Italy, and Founding Partner of Elaia Travel, a specialty travel concierge with expertise in family travel to Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ah, a family Christmas in Rome, what could be more enchanting? The market in Piazza Navona, the lights running down Via del Corso, the presepi in every church. Bello! Sure, \u201cbello,\u201d but the kids get bored easily, so what do you do for the other 29 days or so during the holiday season? Fortunately I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,305],"tags":[226,67,52,180,504,153],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3900"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}