Rome is a top Italian city to visit during the Christmas holiday season and the place where the celebration of Christmas originated. The first Christmas mass was said at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and the earliest known permanent nativity was created for the Rome Jubilee in 1300.
There are many top Rome Christmas sights to check out during the Christmas holiday season, from early December through Epiphany on January 6. In December, Piazza Navona, Rome’s famous Baroque square, is transformed into a huge Christmas market. You’ll find stands selling all kinds of Christmas sweets, toys, nativity figures, decorations, and gifts. Babbo Natale or Father Christmas makes an appearance to delight the kids. A large nativity scene is erected in the square during the Christmas season.
Each year a huge Christmas tree is erected in Saint Peter’s Square. A life-size nativity is also set up but usually not unveiled until Christmas Eve. Thousands of visitors flock to Saint Peter’s Square when the Pope says midnight mass on Christmas Eve inside Saint Peter’s Basilica and delivers his Christmas message at noon on Christmas Day from the window of his apartment above the square.
Rome’s main streets are decorated with lights and often have entertainment by roving musicians and vendors selling roasted chestnuts. A good place to go is the shopping streets near Piazza di Spagna. An outdoor ice skating rink, open daily from 10:00 to midnight during the Christmas season, is set up near Castel Sant’Angelo where there’s also a small Christmas market.
To cherish the spirit of the Roman way of Christmas celebrations, it is best advised to hire a car to tour around spreading and absorbing the festive cheer. Car Rental Italy has exclusive packages for holiday season and for tourists flooding the place to spend their Xmas vacation with family and friends.
car-rental-italy has the choicest fleet of cars on offer and you can pick the one that is most convinient and economical for you and your family.
Happy holidays!!!