In Bari for Carmen and the light show

Carmen on stage until 27 December in that elegant and opulent treasure chest of prose, ballet and indeed opera represented by the Teatro Petruzzelli is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited Christmas event in Puglia's theatre-loving capital. If at the Piccinni, Il Medico dei maiali (The Pig Doctor) with Luca Bizzarri and Francesco Montanari will be staged from 7 January, at the Nuovo Teatro Abeliano from 25 to 27 December, Raffaello Tullo and Martina Salvatore will entertain in the opera Algoritmo. He and L'Ai. Meanwhile, a 14-metre-high tree decorated with 50 thousand coloured LED lights has been erected in Piazza del Ferrarese. A veritable spectacle of illuminations also winds its way along Via Sparano, Via Argiro, Corso Cavour, Corso Vittorio Emanuele and throughout the rays of streets in the Murat district, while in Via Venezia one comes across the markets. From there, you meander through the meanders of Bari Vecchia (the nativity scene exhibition at Palazzo San Michele is interesting) until you reach the Papal Basilica dedicated to St Nicholas, a sacred figure to whom the origin of the custom of gift-giving is attributed. A truly evocative experience is also to stay in the Christmas Suite specially prepared for the festivities at the Vis Urban, an intimate and captivating luxury wellness retreat hotel in the heart of the city where the grace of Art Nouveau and the soft lines of contemporary design, embracing each other, have created a residential palace including the spa alcove in the ancient cistern. The romantic atmosphere now also becomes fairytale-like: when you open the door of the Christmas Suite, you are pleasantly hit by the scent of pine as if you were in a Nordic forest; after all, a giant tree welcomes you to the room, while the smells of cinnamon and hot chocolate recall warm Scandinavian homes. An animated music box emits festive notes. Everything from the fireplace to the red blankets, from the biscuits to the embroidered pillows warms the soul and body. One would never leave. Not least because the parcels are ready to be unwrapped and there are plenty of marshmallows inside the stockings hanging from the radiator.