Why you should visit Montepulciano at Christmas

The evocative scenario of the Val d’Orcia with Montepulciano that dominates it from above is tinged even more with magic on the Christmas festivities. This alone would be enough to choose to visit Montepulciano at Christmas, but there is much more, including events, typical products, and quality shopping.

The Christmas Village in Montepulciano

It has now become a real tradition of Montepulciano: the Christmas village that fills the squares and streets of the hamlet, this year will take place from the 16th November 2019 to the 6th January 2020 with a rich offer that focuses on variety, originality, and quality.

In the eighty wooden houses of this market which is the largest of central Italy, you can find, indeed, Christmas decorations and gift ideas from local crafts, clothing and leather goods, but also food products from the Val d’Orcia and Val di Chiana as well as hot food in street food style.

Christmas typical products in Montepulciano

The Christmas Market goes through the central streets of the hamlet, from the Fortezza Medicea to Piazza Grande, passing through Via San Donato, Via Ricci, Via del Leone, and Piazzetta Danesi. The latter, with its extraordinary view over the Val d’Orcia, will host, for the first time this year, the Christmas Terrace of Montepulciano, a unique and suggestive space, a novelty to taste the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG alongside the excellences typical of this area.

It is not possible to forget the typical desserts of the Christmas’ period in Montepulciano which can be either consumed on the spot or taken home or purchased as a delicious gift for the holidays. Surely the copate, the panpepato, and the castagnaccio, but also a tart with the “sucine” jam, the plums that are very common here, and the typical cantucci with almonds to dip in the Vin Santo.

Montepulciano and the magic of Christmas

The magical atmosphere of the festivities in this medieval hamlet can be discovered in the historic fortress that for the occasion turns into the Castle of Santa Claus. Here, lights and decorations will welcome the little ones for the many activities and creative workshops scheduled for the entire period.

Christmas in Montepulciano will also be enriched by the ice-skating rink and magic shows, face painting, group games with the elves, Santa’s Farm with the pony ranch, light shows and video mapping on the facades of the most beautiful buildings.

Lastly, the nativity scenes in the historic churches of Montepulciano will show the nativity highlighting several significant elements of the biblical story such as the rainbow after the universal flood, the solidity of the Holy Family in this unstable sandy world, the strength of children. “To see the star”, just like the Biblical Magi, visitors will find in the churches of San Biagio, Sant ‘Agostino, del Gesù and the Cathedral the scene narrated in the Gospels and the “great joy” of the Magi themselves. In front of the Cathedral, on the Sagrado in Piazza Grande, an external scene will also be placed for the first time.

Visit this website for further info about Santa Claus Castle in Montepulciano: www.castellodibabbonatale.it

Credits preview photo: By Pug Girl [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Flickr