When most of us think about the Christmas markets, we tend to conjure images of the German influenced Christkindlmarkets. You can find one of these during the holiday season in most major U.S. cities as well as across Europe.  However, Italy also has it’s own magical markets known as Mercatino di Natale.

The markets of Italy are also grounded in German and Austrian roots, but Italians have adopted this tradition and made it their own.

Typically much smaller, and by default, more intimate than their German counterparts, Italian Christmas markets are quintessentially community events. These street markets are commonly open for business as the Advent is ushered in, and close out in line with the Epiphany in early January. They are a festive and fun way to introduce yourself to an area, while sampling the local delicacies, and supporting resident artists and artisans.

Christmas markets are structured much the same, but creative twists on decoration, lighting, themes, foods, and even activities can make certain markets more popular. Generally you’ll find the holiday market in a central location within a town or city. Officials will reserve locations such as large piazzas where locals and tourists alike come to socialize and open space is at a plenty. Streets are lined with small wooden huts or tents where various merchants bring their best representation of local goods and fare.

Market organizers will play to the senses with spectacular light shows, festive Christmas music, and the aroma of food and drink wafting through the air. If you’re lucky, there’s a merchant with a full cart of freshly roasted chestnuts and another with a hot cup of vin brulé, or mulled wine. Incorporating grand carousels and towering Christmas trees in the center of it all, organizing workshops and family games, all aimed at enhancing the social experience for every visitor.

Whether you’re looking for the best in shopping, or a food lovers paradise, or simply a fantastic evening for the entire family to enjoy, one of the many Christmas markets of Italy has what you need.

If it’s the food that’s driving your interest, the Bolzano market in South Tyrol is a good start. It’s one of the largest markets in Italy and mirrors the German markets with foods like apple strudel and hot biscuits. The medieval setting makes it truly a unique experience. In Florence, they too host a German influenced market filled with bratwurst and more, but also incorporate the Italian market for a cultural balance.

When you need to get the Christmas shopping done and are looking for something unique, markets like the Marché Vert Noël in Aosta fit the bill. One of the most popular markets in Northern Italy, this small town converts into an Alpine village and hosts more than 40 chalets filled with handmade gifts, food, wine, and more.

Venice also has a quaint market with the perfect opportunity to purchase hand-blown glass and lace from the nearby Murano and Burano Islands. Or you can score a few of the beautiful carnival masks for a truly unique gift.

Other popular markets are in Trento with more than 70 traditional huts selling merchandise, and in Turin where crafts and gourmet products are presented from 14 Italian regions and 8 foreign countries. Genoa hosts more than 100 artisans from all over Italy, and Naples is famous for their handcrafted precepi, or nativity scenes.

If you’re looking for a memorable family experience, numerous Christmas markets attract visitors far and wide because of their unique decorations and family activities.

In Le Marché, they are known as the medieval candle market. They periodically shut off all of their lamps all over town and then ignite only candles instead, a bewitching and captivating sight.

The Mountain Christmas in idyllic Selva in Val Gardena installs an old fashioned cable car of miniature wooden cabins that can be found hanging high above their magical Christmas village each year. Grab a cup of mulled wine and enjoy the direct connection to the legendary ski tour Sellaronda, with its 500 kilometers of perfectly prepared slopes. 

Places like Rome host several markets, but the most famous in the Piazza Navona takes on a different theme for their market each year. You’ll see spectacular lights, enjoy live music, and marvel at the street performers and acrobats. The entire market bustles with tourists, vendor stalls, a carousel, and festive balloons.

Merano’s market goes all out. The kids will never get bored with activities like pony rides, parades, ice skating, and carriage rides. And in Pisa, their market is solely designed for the kids in mind with the Father Christmas Factory, or Fabbrica di Babbo Natale. 

Across Italy, the Christmas markets host thousands and present a truly magical experience like no other. Enchanting small towns and bustling big cities alike, these special markets are an enriching way to experience the greatest Italy has to offer.

While we hope all of our followers will some day be able to experience a Christmas market in Italy for themselves, we also hope each of you will take advantage of the markets in your own local communities by attending one today. The fairytale settings will captivate and delight, awakening the Christmas spirit in us all – young and old.

Boun Natale!

It’s finally December and the spirit of the holiday season is getting in to full swing here in the U.S. For most of us, Thanksgiving officially kicks off the festivities, and for some, it even begins as early as Halloween. But no matter when your family traditionally welcomes the season, it’s a magical and wondrous time for the little ones in our lives. 

Ask anyone you know and they’ll probably be able to spout out one tradition that their family has had or continues during the holiday season. While the origins of this special time are based on religious and spiritual beliefs, many traditions celebrated are born from families creating memories in their own way and then sustained for years to come. It’s something that brings us together in familiarity and comfort.

Italians also understand this and base many of their traditions on bringing family together and creating a meaningful experience their children will remember and share for the rest of their lives. They also celebrate within their own cultural timeline.

Italians may begin their winter holiday a little later than us, but they also extend the celebration well into January, creating massive excitement and extended anticipation for kids across the country.

The season typically begins on December 8 with the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception. This is a national holiday with significant importance to the Roman Catholic Church, and also the official day when most put up their holiday decorations and Christmas trees. It’s a spectacle to behold with sights, sounds, and smells to heighten the senses of holiday revelers young and old.

In the Novena, or eight days before Christmas, streets are filled with carolers singing traditional songs. In Rome and other locations, you will see the zampognari or bagpipe players who travel from the nearby Abruzzi Mountains to play throughout the streets for the local children. At the same time, piazzas across Italy are enveloped with beautiful lights and decorations, including artisanal handmade presepi, or nativity scenes. You’d be hard pressed not to find one in any city or town.

Other Italian traditions include skipping meat on Christmas Eve as a way to purify their bodies for Christmas Day, often replaced with grand feasts and multiple courses of beautiful seafood instead. While many end the day with Midnight Mass, there are also those brave ones who ski down the Dolomites at the strike of midnight carrying torches to welcome Christmas – an incredible sight to behold.

Christmas Day of course is filled with large meals, loads of family and friends, and glorious Italian foods, including the traditional dessert of panettone, a sweet bread loaf filled with candied fruit and raisins that children love.

The feasting and celebration continues into the New Year, but comes to a crescendo January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas and the Day of the Epiphany. 

The night before, large meals are once again shared with family and friends to mark the end of the season, and La Befana, a witch who flies on her broom and brings good children treats and bad children coal, delivers her gifts and goodies. 

We delight in and appreciate all of the holiday traditions of Italy and hope that all of our followers are able to continue their own family traditions, or start some new ones. Focusing ideas and activities around the children in our lives is a great place to start, and often means these traditions are carried forward for generations to come.

We’d like to help by offering tips and ideas for the table – more specifically, the children’s table.

Rather than setting up a small card table or relegating the little ones to a counter with stools, make their meal memorable by creating something colorful and unique to mark the occasion. Kids notice these things and love when they are singled out with something special just for them. And if you turn it into a tradition, they have something to look forward to each year.

Our children’s table shown here uses our bright and cheerful POP collection. Use these pieces as a backdrop for anything you’d want to add to make it even more festive for the kids. Involving them as much as possible in the party and the preparation makes it special for everyone!

Consider a few of these ideas to get your creativity flowing and to start some new family traditions.

• Let kids create an ornament or other fun craft to designate their spot at the table.
• Make a gingerbread house centerpiece and plan to decorate it together earlier in the day.
• Ask each child to bring a dozen of their favorite decorated Christmas cookies for the whole family to enjoy.
• Provide a special holiday dish just for them to have at their table. Maybe a frozen cranberry reindeer or Christmas tree crudité.
• Provide an age appropriate table game like holiday trivia questions with a prize for the most correct answers, Christmas bingo, I Spy, or place a number under a plate later to be drawn for a prize. You could even fill a large clear vessel with candy and each child guesses the amount inside. When the meal is over they can count the contents and closest to the number wins a prize.
• Lay out crayons or markers and a butcher paper tablecloth for creative drawings or thoughtful messages throughout the meal.
• Place several disposable or digital cameras at the table and let the kids get creative with special shots from their point of view. Share the images in the coming days so everyone has something to look forward to.
• Place pens and paper on the table and have each child write a few sentences that later get compiled into one story. Share the story with the family after dinner. Have them get creative and as silly as they like, these can be the best stories.
• Share with us your favorites. What does your family do for the holidays? Do they plan something special just for the kids? Let us know your favorite traditions.

No matter what you have planned this season, we hope you all are lucky enough to spend just a small bit of time seeing the holidays through the eyes of a child and creating new traditions and memories for years to come. The pure joy, laughter, and whimsy children evoke is the most simple yet poignant way we can think to embrace and celebrate the season. 

Buon Natale!

We hope you have enjoyed our fall and winter entertaining series. We know it’s a busy time for everyone and making it easier to entertain and spend time with friends and family is our goal.

Keeping it simple with quality, seasonal foods and floral elements layered with inviting and complementary dinnerware selections is our secret to success. 

As we head into this hectic time, I would like to share a segment from one of my favorite inspirational speakers, John O’Leary, speaking about what he learned during an attempt to get a multigenerational family photo:

“Love is a Verb.” As one parent ran to get a favorite toy for an upset child, another helped with a crying baby. As one cleaned up spit up, another brushed the hair of a child whose roughhousing disheveled it.

In love, there is no passivity, no sitting back, no waiting for others to jump in. Real love demands action. Love is the great motivator and compels continual forgiveness, persistent compassion and striving toward something even bigger than itself.

(“Love is a verb” is one of my favorite quotes from my recent Live Inspired podcast interview with Edie Varley. Edie shares her beautiful story of growing up one of 14 children – “life was a celebration!” She’s my personal coach, dear friend and you won’t want to miss her wisdom and energy)

2. Life requires adaptability. As more little ones came around their grandparents, everyone had to shuffle to make room and make sure everyone could be seen.

Most of us are creatures of habit and like things as they were. “The good ole days” isn’t just the beginning of a story our grandparents shared, but one now repeated by most of us! It’s critical to remember and celebrate that life is constantly in flux, otherwise we’re at risk to be driven toward protectionism and longing for a past that will never exist again.

3. Perfection is unattainable. The majority of Facebook posts and holiday cards are Photo-shopped or at least only THE BEST photo of hundreds taken before it. It also turns out when someone responds that everything is ‘just perfect’ in their work, finances, family and life: They likely aren’t telling the entire story.

From all of us at Modigliani, we wish you and your family a joyful holiday season, and we look forward to sharing and engaging more with you in the New Year.

Entertaining during the holidays doesn’t have to be complicated. Serving simple items and dishes that are plated and presented beautifully can give the appearance that a lot more effort was required.

Next in our winter series, let’s look at how to creatively dish out the snacks and sweets for your holiday guests.

What Italian feast doesn’t include a hunk of crusty, chewy bread or fresh breadsticks served with extra virgin olive oil for dipping?

While we like to keep it simple, we make it special by sourcing the best tasting freshly baked breads we can find and serving them warm with our favorite olive oil for special occasions. A little garnish of green is all you need to create a beautiful platter, or you can kick it up a notch with some dried fruits or fresh Mediterranean olives.

Dessert can be an excuse to entertain all on its own. You can start by inviting friends over for an Italian coffee with a shot of Strega, a digestif with hints of juniper, mint, and saffron. Top it off with some fresh whipped cream and a hint of grated nutmeg. Delizioso!

Whether post dinner or a dessert only party, creating a dessert bar offers a variety of options and the serving pieces can make it even more interesting.

Using the simple beauty of fruits with stems and leaves intact alongside homemade cakes and cookies is a winning combination. This cake pictured was made by our food stylist with a wonderful mold that makes the most basic recipe look sophisticated. Serve it on a beautiful dish with a sprig of holly or sliced lemons or oranges and it takes it to a whole other level.

If you have a larger group, you can add bowls and cups of beautiful candies or nuts to fill out your dessert bar. Not everything has to be homemade – sometimes just a hint of something to satisfy a sweet tooth is all your guests require.

Read our next installment - Picture Imperfect  

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." William Arthur Ward

While we often mention that the holiday season is our favorite time of the year, we love to carry the sentiment in our hearts all year round. That means, for us, showing our gratitude each and everyday. So as you sit with your family and friends gathered around the table this Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Hanukkah, we encourage you to carry that feeling in your hearts the whole year. Approach each day with a sense of gratitude and express to others how much they mean to you. We have compiled a list of a few wonderful ways to express thanks and are excited to share them with you. We also invite you to leave a comment here, on Facebook or Twitter letting us know how you carry gratitude with you throughout the year.

• Pack a note in the lunch of your child or spouse
• Offer a genuine compliment to a co-worker
• Put a sticky note somewhere random that will make a stranger smile
• Mail a handwritten thank you note to someone who inspires you
• Smile at everyone you see
• Pay for the coffee of the person in line behind you
• Give a larger tip than usual with a service industry worker and include a note of thanks for what they do
• Volunteer your time
• Acknowledge someone publicly for their contributions
• Send flowers or a small gift to thank someone for their time
• Verbally give thanks often

It's no surprise that we love the holidays! Celebrating with friends and family over delicious food on a gorgeous table, not much is better than that! As you join family celebrations be sure to bring along gifts that will delight and surprise. Modigliani Italian ceramics are hand crafted in a variety of styles and designs that are sure to please anyone on your list. 

Each year, at the time of Thanksgiving, we join together with our artisans and partners to create a work of art and compassion. The Angel Plate (Piastra Angelo) is commissioned to honor those with Rett Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder afflicting young girls. They are known as Rett angels, and here we honor them as such. This is a one-of-a-kind gift which comes with a certificate of authenticity. All of the proceeds go to Rett Syndrome research, this donation is confirmed in a letter sent directly to you from the organization for tax purposes. Visit www.rettsyndrome.org for more ways to support the cause. This truly is the gift that gives back! 

Our popular POP Collection has gone holiday! A subtle tree or ornament is painted on these serving pieces. The perfect delight for your friends and family. They mix well with our everyday POP and our Rosso Collections. This POP Collection tray makes a lovely gift for anyone that loves color and modern style. It also comes in several sizes.

Rustic and red best describes our Rosso collection. The glazing is rich and deep and we find ourselves highlighting this collection from Valentines Day to Christmas with Fourth of July in between! Our Rosso Espresso Cup & Saucer mixes well with Colonna zebra and Condotti black flatware. The simplicity of the design allows this set to mix and match with a variety of other dinnerware. Pair this lovely espresso cup and saucer set with some homemade biscotti and you have created the perfect hostess gift.

One of a kind, or pezzo unico, our Artist Series Collection marries the contemporary with the traditional. Created by one of our young ceramists and painted by Lazzaro, each of these pieces is one of a kind. The series brings a contemporary feel to an old tradition. The Artist Series Large Double Vase is a statement piece in anyone's Italian ceramic collection. Standing 16" tall, this vase would be a bold statement on a mantel, credenza, or large dining room table. 

Handcrafted fabrics, tablecloths, towels, runners, curtains and sofas created by Busatti are the result of nearly two centuries of experience. In this Tuscan firm, precious fabrics woven with shuttle looms come to life  from the dying, spinning and weaving processes that were originally developed centuries ago. The wonderfully soft woven fabrics are then each finished by skillful hands; transforming them into exclusive, beautiful works of art that you can enjoy daily.