iL Capodanno – New Year’s in Italy 2010

Looking for somewhere different for New Years Eve? Italy’s iL Capodanno (beginning of the new year) will hit the spot!

The Italians rarely need an excuse to party, so when New Year’s Eve ascends on the world, Italy explodes into a land of excitement, revelry and light-hearted debauchery….Excellent!

 

Food, naturally, plays a leading role in Italian New Year’s Eve celebrations, with most families gathering for a huge feast. Traditionally, lentils are served first as a symbol of wealth, fortune and prosperity. Dinner usually consists of a ‘cotechino’, a large spiced sausage, or a ‘zampone’, a stuffed pig’s trotter.

Fireworks traditionally follow the grand feast and at midnight elaborate firework displays light up the Italian night sky. Whilst nearly every town in Italy puts on its own impressive firework show, it is the city of Naples which has one of the biggest and grandest New Year firework displays in the whole of Italy. Families and friends flock to Naples to experience such an impressive show.

Music and dancing follow the fireworks and usually go on until well into the early hours of New Year’s Day. Many towns and villages put on live singers and bands who belt out Italian classics to the delight of the jovial crowds. The cities of Milan, Rome, Palermo, Naples and Bologna, hold hugely popular televised outdoor shows with famous pop and rock bands performing.

Drink, naturally also plays a pivotal role in New Year’s Eve celebrations in Italy, with sparkling wines such as ‘Spumante’ or ‘Prosecco’ flowing almost as fast as the mighty River Pro.

New Year revellers in Italy are warned to wear something to protect their heads from falling objects, as another New Year’s Eve tradition, particularly in the south of Italy, is to throw old things out of the window to symbolize an acceptance of the New Year.

But perhaps the quirkiest of Italian New Year traditions, is that merrymakers must wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve. Well we did warn of some light-hearted debauchery!

It all sounds far too tempting, now check out the best city accomodation Italy has to offer.