Travelling to Advent locations on both sides of the Alps
Between Krampus and travelling nativity scenes in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia lights up the magic of the holidays by transforming towns, villages and mountains, from the Julian Alps to the coast, into a widespread stage of lights, traditions and authentic atmospheres markets and traditional rituals such as the Giro Presepi, which includes more than 160 initiatives in a hundred municipalities. They range from Porcia to Poffabro and Polcenigo, from the nativity scene in Spilimbergo with its mosaic statues to the underwater nativity scene in Forgaria, from Sutrio to San Daniele del Friuli and Cividale to Trieste, where the nativity scene museum houses a thousand contemporary nativities. Christmas in Friuli also preserves the ancient pace of Alpine legends: in the Tarvisio area, the night of 5 December is dedicated to the Krampus, the masked creatures that accompany St. Nicholas among torchlight processions, bonfires and parades. In Malborghetto Valbruna, from 30 November to 21 December, Advent Pur returns, a path lit by lanterns that leads among handcrafted cribs, wooden sculptures and stops next to hot stoves, with activities for families at the Kinderalm. The markets enliven small towns and cities, from Sauris to Sappada, from Udine to Pordenone, up to the Unesco sites of Palmanova and Aquileia. On 8 December, the Train of Cribs and Markets travels along the Pedemontana Railway, with stops at cribs and animations.
Lastly, on the coast, Lignano Sabbiadoro hosts "Natale d'A...mare" (Christmas at sea) with its famous sand crib and the Villaggio del Gusto (Taste Village), while from 6 December to 1 February, the "Presepi a Grado" (Cribs in Grado) exhibition brings together works from Italy, Austria and Slovenia and sets the backdrop of the Spiaggia Imperiale transformed into an enchanted forest for the Winter Season.
