Fighting
off the commercialism of Christmas is
easy in small town Italy where the buzz
words have always been handmade, local
and thrifty.
We are mailing out signed copies of our books daily to be sure they arrive in time for the holidays. You can save on postage costs to USA by ordering a copy of Etruria-travel, history and itineraries together with a copy of Olio e Ricordi in Cucina. Order directly through my website.
Here in the
hill towns of Etruria, an hour north of
Rome along the Via Cassia, the
atmosphere is light years away from the
frenzy of commercial malls and big city
mega stories.
With the
olive harvest just finished, these first weeks of December
are dedicated to celebrating the new
extra virgin olive oil.
In restaurants
and homes, bruschetta doused with the
new oil is offered and in former churches,
cantinas, piazzas and tiny artisans’ workshops
there are markets and exhibits of
objects created by local artisans.
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| Anna Meloni crafts macrame jewlery |
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| elegant pieces by Marisa |
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| Diana Biscaioli 's designer objects in felt |
In the past
24 hours we visited the first of
these artisans’ shows. As Christmas nears several others will be happening on weekends in Viterbo
and surrounding towns.
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| diarte.wordpress.com felt vase covers |
If you know of other Christmas fairs and artisans' exhibits
in other parts of Italy, please tell us about them in a comment at the end of this article.
Yesterday
we drove to the next town,Capranica, just as the Christmas lights were being turned on, creating a holiday atmosphere for the craft show in the ancient church of San
Francesco.
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| view of Capranica historic center |
Overlooked by the 15th
century double Anguillara funerary monument, were tables full
of locally produced crafts in wool, felt, ceramic, wood and sculpted stone.
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| Anguillara double funerary monument |
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| elegant cradle and table |
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| Daniela Andreotti's ceramics |
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| Roberto Ceccarini of Artepetra |
The
excellent prices are a further benefit
of buying locally and directly from the artisans themselves.
With little or no
overhead, the crafts people can offer hand painted
cushions at 10-20 euro, ceramics and
paintings at 5 to 20
euro, hand fashioned jewelery and key chains starting from 5 euros.
Besides olive oil, the area is also famous for
hazelnuts and derived products, samples of which were offered at the stands of local farmers' cooperatives. Christmas
baskets of gourmet food
are an intelligent gift to suit anyone on your gift list.
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| hard to find apples |
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| From Caprarola, crafts and edibles |
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| crafted leather earrings and pendants |
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| fashion accessories by Laura |
Antiques and vintage objects are often
found in these pre-Christmas markets.
I found a vintage straw-work box from Russia (10
euro) to add to my collection of boxes.
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| Fiorella came from Canino with antique boxes and knick knacks |
Copper, glass and other
knick knacks as well as decorated furniture, vintage clothing, bags,
books and jewelery beckon from various
shop fronts along the main street of Vetralla. Next weekend (Dec 8-9) the fair will be repeated.
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| Daniela Carnevali's floral compositions |
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Cristina's vintage clothing
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There are always surprises during these weekend festivals: a group of parents had set up a bake sale in the town hall to benefit their kids' school. We happily purchased a crostata, biscotti and cakes wrapped in cellophane.
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| Piazza S. Egidio, Vetralla |
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Copper pieces, La Fenice of Fiorella Tassoni
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| Simona & Simona crafting Christmas ornaments |
Another unexpected vision was this vintage fridge topped by an antique map of New England.
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What better way to keep warm than hand knitted wool and mohair caps, gloves and scarves like these found next to wood and ceramic crafts made by members of the same family.
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| Iria's wool caps |
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| wooden owls |
