Buongiorno Italy readers!

Every region in Italy has special foods associated with Christmas, including many unique meatless Christmas Eve pasta dishes. This meat and dairy-free specialty from the Dolomite area of northern Italy is traditionally served as a first course on Christmas Eve. 

Correct pronunciation is key to communicating well in Italian. Have you ever considered using tongue twisters to strengthen your pronunciation skills? You get to practise difficult sounds and groups of letters and improve them through repetition. If you fancy having a go, try out these tongue twisters, known as ‘scioglilingue’ in Italian.

For Christmas this year, the Uffizi Gallery, Italy’s most renowned art gallery, offers art lovers a virtual journey through the history of art.

Celebrating Santo Stefano aka St. Stephen's Day in Italy on December 26th, an important day in the Italian Calendar. 

Read the story of Giovanna Coppola, who moved from New York to the island of Ischia, where her mother was born.

The Royal Gardens of Venice, located adjacent to St. Mark’s Square, have reopened just ahead of Christmas, barely a month after a series of floods caused by bad weather and exceptionally high tides damaged businesses and homes.  

Fried dough pellets glued together with honey to form a wreath. That, in essence, is la cicerchiata, a traditional holiday dessert from Italy’s Abruzzo region. 

Serve antipasti at a party on this footed dish or leave it standing on its own as decor. Here is a gorgeous hand-painted functional piece of Italian art from Sberna of Deruta, Italy. 

For sale in Piedmont: the ancient residence “La Braida” was built by Donato Ottolenghi between 1871 and 1893 and consists of three buildings. More info here on our #propertyoftheweek. 

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