Christmas Market in Piazza Navona

Christmas time in Rome is synonym of Piazza Navona, the beautiful Baroque square housing every year from the 1st December to the Epiphany a characteristic Christmas market. The elongated square, mindful of the shape of the ancient Domitian Stadium, fills up of many different stalls selling any kind of toys, overly sweets and, above all, Nativity Scenes. You will find different typology of cribs, from the basic to the more complex one, with astonishing decorations such as fountains in miniature, detailed workshop, mountains and so on. This is a place where your children would love to spend some hours riding the wooden-horse merry-go-round, playing at the rifle range or winning a goldfish at the grab bag. The acme of the happening is during the night between 5th and 6th of December, at Epiphany’s Eve, when the Befana (a kindly old witch who brings children toys) literally pop up from one of the windows of the Church of Saint Agnes, showing only a scary fascinating shadow with a big nose and a broomstick. If you are in Rome in Christmas time it really worth a visit, and remember not to miss the candy apples, the candyfloss and the classic bombe fritte, a sort of doughnut.