Things to do in Winter, 2012 in Italy

Restoration work will start on the Rome Colesseum  in March, 2012. So January & February are still nice months to visit the Colosseum, Rome's most popular tourist attraction. It is nearly 2000 years old and is badly in need of some restoration work. The planned project will allow even more of the Colosseum to be open to visitors. The benefit of visiting in January & February is theses are low tourist seasons, that means no crowds or long lines!

San Antonio Abate is celebrated in villages in the Abruzzo region and Sardinia, January 16 to 17, with the lighting of huge bonfires that burn all night and there's often also music, dancing, and drink.

San Antonio Abate is celebrated in the Sicilian town of Nicolosi, near Mount Etna, on January 17. Ceremonies begin before dawn when the monks repeat their vows of dedication to God and to the Saint. The day is filled with parades and solemn ceremonies.

Il Palio di Sant'antonio Abate is held in the Tuscan town of Buti, near Pisa, the first Sunday after January 17. Festivities start with a procession of people wearing the colors of their neighborhood. In the afternoon, the horse race, a competition between the neighborhoods, is run with the winner taking the palio.

Feast Day of San Sebastiano is celebrated many places in Sicily on January 20. In Mistretta, a huge statue of the saint is paraded through town on a litter born by 60 men. In Acireale, there is a colorul parade with a silver carriage and singing of hymns.

In the Abruzzo region, the city of Ortono celebrates by lighting the Vaporetto, a brightly coloured papier maché model of a boat which is decorated and loaded with fireworks, in front of the Cathedral in honor of St. Sebastian.

Fair of Sant'Orso, a woodcarvers fair, has been around for about 1000 years. Local restaurants serve special meals, there's entertainment, and over 700 woodworkers have stalls to demonstrate their skills and sell wooden items. The fair is in the historic center of Aosta at the end of January.

Carnevale in Italy is a huge winter festival celebrated with parades, masquerade balls, entertainment, music, and parties. Children throw confetti at each other. Mischief and pranks are also common during Carnevale, hence the saying A Carnevale Ogni Scherzo Vale, anything goes at carnival.

Carnevale has roots in pagan festivals and traditions and as is often the case with traditional festivals was adapted to fit into the Catholic rituals. Although carnival is actually one date, in Venice and some other places in Italy the carnival celebrations and parties may begin a couple weeks before.

Masks, maschere, are an important part of the carnevale festival and Venice is the best city for traditional carnival masks. Carnival masks are sold year round and can be found in many shops in Venice, ranging from cheap masks to elaborate and expensive masks. Walking through the streets of Venice, it's a pleasure to view the variety of masks on display in shop windows. People also wear elaborate costumes for the festival and there are costume or masquerade balls, both private and public.

The 2011 date for carnevale is March 8 but celebrations in Venice and many parts of Italy start in February.

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