Il Sole 24 Ore: better living in Italy of 2020

Every end of the year, Il Sole 24 Ore, an Italian national daily business newspaper owned by Confindustria, draws up a ranking of the most livable cities in Italy.

“Wealth and consumption”, “demography”, “health and jobs”, are some pf the parameters used in the yearly quest. Another big part that completely changed the order of this list, has been by the considering the effect of the 2020 pandemic.

On our article, we will be considering only the first six most livable Italian cities

  • Bologna

Bologna known as “La Dotta” (The Wise) is the town on top of the 2020 classifies. It is on the very first position for the best improvement on “culture and free time”, “business and jobs”, and the social spending on: home assistance and transportation for “elder and ill people, with an increase of 53.9%” [https://www.ilpost.it/2020/12/14/classifica-province-italia-2020/]

Bologna: the best town to live in 2020

Bologna, Parma at 8th, Forlì-Cesena 14th, Modena 15th, and Reggio are the five districts belonging to Emilia-Romagna region.

  • Bolzano

The second place is taken by Bolzano. This city is located in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, province of north Italy is a greater metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants and is one of the urban centers within the Alps. The Dolomites mountain town for the society and demography received the best score.

Bolzano 2nd position in 2020
  • Trento

“Environment and services”, “business and jobs”, “wealth and consumptions” lead this city on the third place. Trento is famous for the beauty of its landscape and the quality of its snow, it is a favorite destination for ski enthusiasts. Some of the most touristic spots are particularly Madonna di Campiglio, Canazei, Cavalese, and San Martino di Castrozza.

Trento 3rd position in 2020
  • Verona

“Romeo & Juliet” town receives is on the fourth place of the list for the good job on “environment and services” and “business and jobs.” The northern city belonging to Veneto region, has many touristic hot spots; such as: medieval old town built between the meandering Adige River. It’s also famous for a tiny balcony overlooking a courtyard is said be “Juliet’s House.”

Verona’s beauty in 2020
  • Trieste

Trieste is the capital city of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. Always known as a port city, it occupies a very small strip of land between the Adriatic coast and Slovenia’s border. According to the quest, this city did very well on “business and jobs”, and “environment and services.”

Trieste: Piazza dell’ Unita’
  • Udine

“Justice and security” are the winning categories that takes the city of Udine at the sixth place.  Its Friulian culture, the European melting-pot of Italian, Austrian and Slovene influences, gives the city a unique ambience, best experienced in its cuisine. Udine it is known in the entire world for the: San Daniele prosciutto, and Bastianich wines.

Udine

ANTONIA L. MOSCA

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A tour of Christmas Villages 2019 around Italy

For a couple of weeks, we have been hearing people humming on the street Christmas tunes, cities have been more colorful with red bows or their lighted up trees, and also, we have been somehow hearing strangers using Christmas ring tones. Well, with today, we can definitely confirm that the month of December has finally arrived.

It does not want to be a cliché, but we are merrier on Christmas season. Everything looks brighter, and our time is usually spent with our closest ones. It is not a case that December has been considered as a high peak season for families and friends to stay together on vacation.

In case you are planning to visit Italy, this is definitely a magic time to go. From North to South, you may want to have some time for Christmas street markets. We would like to indicate you few unmissable places.

Christkindlmarkt, it is a yearly event staged in Bolzano (Trentino Alto Adige) from the end of November, until January 6th. You may have the chance to check on gastronomy stands, along with small business specialized also to children’s interests such as: the miniature trains. On the streets you may smell the sweet strudel, mulled wine, and apple juice.

Stunning Bolzano scenary

Christmas Village in Ascoli Piceno (Marche) from December 1st to January 6th.  In the main Plaza Arringo, you may take a tour on the miniature wooden towns, take a stroll in the main streets where you can purchase several unique Christmas gifts, and you may take some time to ice skate, too. In case you plan to stay for a couple of days, you may not want to miss to deliver your mail to Santa Claus’ house, and participate the alive Nativity.

Street Christmas market in Ascoli Piceno

Christmas street festival in the warmer capital Rome, you may see this special time of the year in one of the most enchanting places of the world: Piazza Navona. This event is going to start December 2nd and will come to an end on January 6th. Music, lights, stores, will be an amazing scene of this last part of the 2019.

Enchanting Piazza Navona

San Gregorio Armeno, Napoli (Campania) is one of the most beautiful stops you may need to take if you land to the “Sun country”. This specific street has centuries of Christmas Nativity tradition. You will find in every shop Christmas Nativity character and each of them are exclusively hand-made. Besides, Neapolitan handcrafter are well known also to place anyone else into the Nativity scene. You may surprisingly see Napoli soccer players, Queen Elizabeth, Roberto Benigni, and many more mundane characters.

Unique narrow streets of San Gregorio Armeno, Napoli

We can tell that San Gregorio Armeno is opened the whole year round; therefore, you may visit 365 days per year. However, Christmas season has always a different and more special “flavor” to appreciate the charm of this great city.

Giotto Park Village. The stunning Palermo (Sicily) celebrates Christmas with spectacular markets. The Christmas Village will be on until January 6th.

These are opened to all ages, especially to the children who can take rides on many carousels. Another event you may not want to miss is to try the street Sicilian food and tasty wines. We can guarantee that the weather is not as inclement as the North of Italy, so walking around the markets will be a total fun. For this Christmas event, all the stores will be opened. Tourist, and local will be able to check on special gifts.

Antonia L Mosca

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