Bergamo comes alive for the holidays: the most magical season of the year arrives with a slew of events in the city and province.
November-December is a magical period because it marks the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season. Around the city, we pass by store windows decorated for the holidays and as we walk down each street in Bergamo we find ourselves on a journey with magical undertones, just like those we see in the many Christmas movies. The elegant lights scattered throughout the city cast a different, almost dreamlike light on the city.
Lights, decorations and events. In this article, we have collected (almost) all of the Christmas events in the city and throughout the province. What do you think about stopping by and visiting us?
Piazzale degli Alpini markets
The markets will be held again this year in Piazzale degli Alpini, near the Bergamo city bus station. You will find the traditional wooden cottages from late November to December 27, every day from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Food and wine specialties, sweets, and handicrafts will all be there to help you find your unique gifts.
And this year there is also going to be a skating rink!
The Ferris wheel
The big Ferris wheel returns to Palazzo Frizzoni in front of Bergamo City Hall.
More than 30 meters high, you'll see the city festively lit up, with a magnificent view of the Sentierone and Via XX Settembre, as well as Città Alta in front of you. The upper part of the city, with its medieval past, has a unique charm at this time of year: the streets are lit up with Christmas decorations that highlight the beauty of the narrow streets, steps, and historic and artisan stores.
Santa's House
Santa's home in Lapland? No, Bergamo, specifically Gandino, one of the Five Lands of Val Gandino’s villages, in Val Seriana. A land of merchants that hosts the Santa Claus House during the holiday season in an old mansion close to the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta.
Kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom: the famous helpers, the Elves, will carefully guide the tour visit of the whole house. At the entrance, children can write letters to Santa Claus, and in designated areas, they can let their imaginations run wild, creating Christmas crafts and getting to know the animals of the Farm in the urban garden.
Adults can find hundreds of Nativity reconstructions from Italy and around the world at the Museum of Nativity Scenes, which is close to Santa's House.
Castione della Presolana markets
Christmas markets at the foot of the mountains, including the queen of the Orobie Mountains, Presolana.
On weekends in November and December, the square in Castione della Presolana turns into an enchanted village. Little wooden houses, handicrafts, food and wine specialties, roasted chestnuts, and mulled wine!
And what about the kids? Santa Claus will greet them in the Nativity Hut's living room, and the Elves will show them around the craft workshop, where they can get their hands dirty making Christmas-themed crafts like decorations and ornaments. The entire family can enjoy the beauty of the village on the Presolana Train while not missing the traveling nativity scenes.
St. Lucia's Day
Before Christmas, there is a much more important festival in Bergamo, especially for kids: Santa Lucia. She brings sweets and gifts to children on the night between the 12th and the 13th of December, pulled by her faithful donkey. She is the patron saint of the blind, the electricians and ophthalmologists, but what is her story? There are two versions, one has a more historical nature and one is a legend. Let’s begin with history: we are in the first centuries after Christ, a time of Christian persecution, and a young Syracusan girl, Lucia, is executed for her Christian faith. Her eyes were allegedly removed before she was executed. The second legend is more romantic: a young man in love with the beauty of the young Lucia wanted her eyes as a gift, but when they were removed, a miracle happened and her eyes grew back more beautiful than before. When she was asked for her eyes a second time, Lucia refused and was killed.
During this time of the year, children prepare the letter with their gift wish list, assuring in it that they have been good (coal is the punishment for bad behavior).
The letter needs to be mailed by December 12th. The Church dedicated to Santa Lucia, located at the beginning of Via XX Settembre, the heart of Bergamo's shopping, welcomes the children who leave their letters in front of the saint's statue on weekends and not only.
What better time to visit Bergamo than Christmas time? We are waiting for you, check room availability and booking mode on!
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