As with any country where Christmas or any other holiday or religious festival is celebrated, Italy has many unique traditions when it comes to the festive season. From specific foods served and eaten for different meals and on different days to their own legends about who brings gifts (traditionally, it is a kindly witch and not a man in a red suit who does the honours in Italy) to Christmas markets to impeccable live nativity scenes and much more besides, there are all sorts of wonderful Italian Christmas traditions to engage with and experience if you have decided to try out a Christmas getaway in Italy. But if you plan on spending Christmas in Tuscany or Christmas in a villa in Siena, in particular, and you are after an ancient, dramatic, and exciting tradition to keep you busy on Christmas Eve then you should head to Abbadia San Salvatore in the province of Siena.
During the weekends as early as fall and right into December, in the run up to Christmas, Abbadia San Salvatore, located on Monte Amiata, is the site of scenes of busy activity with the construction of giant wooden bonfires ahead of the most important annual festival in town. Eventually lit on Christmas Eve, this is all preparation for Fiaccole di Natale, an annual event with ancient origins that has been passed down for generations upon generations. In fact, it is such an old festival that its exact beginnings are uncertain and shrouded in myth but is said to go back hundreds and hundreds of years to when people in the local area would light large fires to stay warm during their vigils on the night before the birth of the Lord and that it commemorates the shepherds who followed to star to the witness the arrival of Christ on Christmas Day.
The bonfires are comprised of thirty stacks of firewood that are each piled between five and seven meters high and are made up of wood harvested from the forests around Monte Amiata. The wood is carefully selected in order to perfectly build their fiaccole, or pyramidal firewood stacks, and are put together by residents of the different districts of the Medieval centre of the town. Finally, on the 24th of December, on the evening of the Fiaccole festival, it all begins. At 6pm the crowds gather in the lovely historic centre for the Cerimonia di Accensione, which begins with the Benezione del Fuoco (Blessing of the Fire). Then the band plays Christmas songs while the first fire, the one in front of the town hall, is lit with this sacred flame.
With this as a signal, the Capi Fiaccola (the people officially designated to light the fires) disperse in a parade across the rest of the centre to set the other bonfires alight. The Christmas cheer and songs continue and the flames burn until dawn. In addition to the beautiful spectacle of the fires in this picturesque setting and the wonderful musical accompaniment, the festival is made even more pleasant by restaurants and bars in the area remaining open late to serve delicious local wines and gastronomic specialities to those enjoying the festivities, and the market stalls, the displays, and the various other events, entertainments, and special initiatives that are set up around town on the day itself and during the lead up to the 24th. A unique and wonderful Tuscan Christmas tradition, this magical festival is ideal for those who have found a villa in Tuscany or a vacation rental in Siena and who are looking to dive right into the special and charming festive experiences that are specific to Tuscany and impossible to encounter anywhere else in the world. Make your Christmas even more special this year and spend the Holidays in Tuscany...
The bonfires are comprised of thirty stacks of firewood that are each piled between five and seven meters high and are made up of wood harvested from the forests around Monte Amiata. The wood is carefully selected in order to perfectly build their fiaccole, or pyramidal firewood stacks, and are put together by residents of the different districts of the Medieval centre of the town. Finally, on the 24th of December, on the evening of the Fiaccole festival, it all begins. At 6pm the crowds gather in the lovely historic centre for the Cerimonia di Accensione, which begins with the Benezione del Fuoco (Blessing of the Fire). Then the band plays Christmas songs while the first fire, the one in front of the town hall, is lit with this sacred flame.
With this as a signal, the Capi Fiaccola (the people officially designated to light the fires) disperse in a parade across the rest of the centre to set the other bonfires alight. The Christmas cheer and songs continue and the flames burn until dawn. In addition to the beautiful spectacle of the fires in this picturesque setting and the wonderful musical accompaniment, the festival is made even more pleasant by restaurants and bars in the area remaining open late to serve delicious local wines and gastronomic specialities to those enjoying the festivities, and the market stalls, the displays, and the various other events, entertainments, and special initiatives that are set up around town on the day itself and during the lead up to the 24th. A unique and wonderful Tuscan Christmas tradition, this magical festival is ideal for those who have found a villa in Tuscany or a vacation rental in Siena and who are looking to dive right into the special and charming festive experiences that are specific to Tuscany and impossible to encounter anywhere else in the world. Make your Christmas even more special this year and spend the Holidays in Tuscany...
