Mountains, markets, magic: Christmas in Northern Italy

Story and photo by Kat Nickola, Contributing writer; Photo by Greens and Blues/Shutterstock.com

I glanced out the kitchen window of our rental and watched as my son fed the goats and my daughter played with the fuzzy orange cat. Then I looked at the view beyond: a little church with a big steeple perched over a dark green valley of fields and forest. The sun was setting, but the snow-covered peaks above it all still blazed bright white against a darkening blue sky. I love the Dolomites.

Our farmstay apartment was high in the foothills of La Val in the Südtirol province of northern Italy. Here, the Dolomite Mountains, part of the Alps mountain range, have uniquely steep and jagged peaks.

This part of Italy was part of the Hapsburg (Austrian) Empire for half a millennium before being annexed to Italy after WWI. So, while it is Italian, it is culturally Germanic. Most places have both a traditional German name and a newer Italian counterpart.

Holiday spirit, mountain-style

In early December, the snows had not yet come down to our farmstay, but we could easily hike up to it. We spent days hiking right out our door. First, to that cute little church, then further across the farm fields and through the pine woods. We were never at a loss for beautiful scenery.

On St. Nicholas day (Dec 6), my kids woke to find chocolate coins in their shoes. To get deeper into the holiday spirit, we spent the day in the nearby medieval town of Bruneck.

On his day, Saint Nicholas visits the city park to give out candy, but we learned that his counterpart Krampus had run through town the night before. This goat-footed demon is an alpine tradition, dealing with naughty children, while St. Nicholas rewards those who are good.

We visited the Messner Mountain museum, housed in the castle above the town. We putzed around the main cobbled shopping street that was decked out in Christmas lights, festive carved logs, and lots of Christmas greenery.

Italy often summons images of warm summers, sunny beaches, and ripe garden vegetables. However, the country is incredible in the winter, too, especially in the mountainous north.

Alpine outdoor fun

But we longed for an even more wintry experience. So we spent the afternoon at nearby Pragser Wildsee (Lago di Braies in Italian): a gorgeous partially frozen alpine lake.

It was fun to slide around on the ice, or to listen to the odd reverberating sounds the ice made as it shifted against the surrounding cliff walls. But my kids discovered that the best game was throwing rocks on the ice to see whose echo was the loudest.

Once sufficiently frozen, we returned to Bruneck for an evening at the Christmas market. It is small, but one of my favorite holiday markets, and especially glittering at night. It’s one of the few markets where I’ve actually purchased things; locally made woolen slippers that I love. There are also lots of locally made wooden crafts and wool clothes.

Our final day was spent on a day-long hiking adventure from our farmstay. We started in a dark cold forest then found ourselves on a sunny alpine meadow.

We let the sun warm our bones and the view warm our souls. The trail ended along a tunnel of shrubs covered in sparkly ice crystals. It was magic. The kids tried to take some with us, but they melted quickly. The magic stayed in La Val.

For more information: Sudtirol Farmstays (called Agriturismo): www.redrooster.it/en Kronplatz (region in Sudtirol) Tourism: www.kronplatz.com/en