Buongiorno Italy readers!

With the Christmas and New Year season drawing in, there are many reasons to seek out the nearest pub or bar in Italy. A well-earned break between Christmas shopping. The work's do. A place to see in the New Year. We've come up with seven good locales to try out this Winter around the boot – Saluti!

Christmas is just around the corner, so we’ve put together a collection of our favorite Christmas-inspired stories from the magazine. Wherever you are celebrating this year, you may be interested in reading these popular Italian sayings about Christmas.

Transhumance, mountaineering and a historic-religious event taking place in Abruzzo are Italy’s latest additions to Unesco’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, taking the number of protected Italian traditions in the list up to 12.

Pandoro, a tall star-shaped cake, has a delicious eggy brioche-like soft center, with a lovely vanilla-butter aroma. In this recipe, it is taken to yet another level with each layer spread with mascarpone and decorated with mint leaves and candied cherries. 

If you’re in Rome during the holidays, you may want to take a day to head nearby to Castello di Bracciano to attend what has been hailed as Italy’s largest living nativity scene.  

Luxury travel experts Luxo Italia are just the local destination experts to plan an unforgettable adventure for your 2020 Italy trip. 

Mostaccioli cookies belong to the cuisine of the regions of southern Italy and are generally prepared during the Christmas period. Read this article in Italian, we also have an audio version to follow along with the text.

It’s easy to get snobbish about Italian food, and that’s not what this is about. But if you want to cook your pasta in a way that would make even the most purist nonna’s mouth water, here are a few simple tips to get your dishes as authentic as possible.

Perfect for your holiday table! New in our shop is this multicolored Set of 4 Christmas Placeholders with decorations inspired by cosmate's mosaics. From La Ciociara Collection. 

Always dreamed of owning a second holiday home in Puglia? Here's our top pick. This iconic property is the perfect blend of traditional Trulli and modern comforts near the "site city" of Ostuni and comes with a brand-new pool. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend from Georgette, your editor, and the Italy Magazine team.