I love Christmastime in Italy. The streets are filled with lights and decorations, making the already beautiful Medieval architecture even more gorgeous.

Wreaths and greenery decorate doorways, shops, and streets. Holiday magic is in the air.

In Lucca, this year’s decorations have a musical theme, with music symbols and poetic lyrics lighting up the piazzas.

The theater where music performances and operas are held glows bright in a stunning display of golden lights. There is ice skating in Piazza Napoleone and the smell of fresh frates (warm, sugar-coated doughnuts) fill the air. I had to taste one - all in the name of research of course. A perfect wintery treat on a cold, crisp night.

It wouldn’t be an Italian Christmas without a presepe (nativity scene). The one inside the Basilica of San Michele is my favorite this season. It has beautiful and detailed figures representing not just Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus but of a whole village of people. The display includes houses, the village mill, and even a pond along with the manger and animals. Most unusual is that this is not a static display - it is programmed with light that changes from sunrise in the east to daylight followed by sunset in the west and to the night sky, in which a bright star appears. I was just as fascinated as was the little girl next to me watching with her grandfather.

The season continues past Christmas through the New Year celebrations and on to Epiphany in early January. So there is still plenty of time to wander through town enjoying the magic of Christmas in Italy.

-post by Joanne