Borgo La Chiaracia – Umbria that listens
He continued on to Umbria, where the fields slept under a copper-colored sky.
At the Radici restaurant, Chef Collazzo spoke through essential ingredients: roots, infusions, herbs, memories.
During that simple yet profound Christmas lunch, the traveler understood that cooking can become a way to listen to silence.
Immersed in the Umbrian landscape, within the Borgo La Chiaracia Resort & Spa, the fine dining restaurant Radici is a place where cuisine becomes a cultured and evocative language for describing a territory. Radici welcomes national guests and the local public in an intimate and elegant atmosphere, where the gastronomic experience intertwines with the rhythm of the surrounding nature.
Turin – The city dressed in lights
A different kind of Christmas awaited him in Turin: urban, elegant, lively.
At Cannavacciuolo Bistrot, the flavors of Piedmont met the Mediterranean breeze.
The New Year’s Eve dinner there had the rhythm of a gentle celebration, made up of recipes that warm and surprise.
Cannavacciuolo Bistrot Torino is the Cannavacciuolo family’s first bistro: it was created to bring the chef’s cuisine to the city in a more everyday form, without compromising on technique and care. It combines Piedmontese roots and Mediterranean flair, with dishes that reinterpret tradition in a contemporary key, using selected ingredients and familiar flavors.
Torre Canne – The Winter Sea
One morning, he decided to head south to Puglia.
At Canne Bianche, the winter sea had a slow, almost hypnotic sound.
The traveler sat on the terrace and realized that Christmas lunch could be bright, salty, Mediterranean.
New Year’s Eve, on the other hand, arrived like a silent wave.
Part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World circuit and awarded a Michelin Key in 2024. Inside is Autentico Wine & Restaurant, which offers dishes that pay homage to the Apulian culinary tradition, made with genuine products and unmistakable flavors.
Lake Garda – La Pausa dei Sensi
When he reached Cape of Senses, the water was like an opal mirror.
The distant lights flickered like fallen stars.
Here, Christmas lunch was made up of precious little details, while New Year’s Eve dinner sparkled like a fairy tale told at dusk.
Cape of Senses is a designer eco-resort where you can enjoy an authentic sensory journey. With panoramic suites, swimming pools, gardens of centuries-old olive trees, and a 2,000 m² spa, the resort invites you to rediscover time, silence, and well-being. Fragrances, natural materials, carefully selected sounds, and local cuisine make every stay an experience that involves all the senses, in perfect harmony with the beauty of the lake.
Florence – A Festive Residence
He returned to the Florentine hills to experience “Collegio on Ice.”
Collegio alla Querce, the first Italian property of Auberge Collection, was inaugurated last March in Florence.
From November 7 to January 31, “A Winter Wonderland” will enliven the historic residence in the Florentine hills, transforming it into an exceptional destination, enlivened by music, fine dining, and a festive atmosphere that will enchant both international guests and the Florentine community.
I walked among lanterns, music, and scents that seemed to come from a Nordic fairy tale.
The Christmas Brunch was a luminous embrace, and the New Year’s Eve Dinner was a golden gala worthy of a night to remember.
Rome – A Tradition That Will Never Be Forgotten
In Campocori, in the heart of the Jewish quarter, he discovered a sincere Christmas: tortelli in broth, stracciate, recipes that gave comfort.
The New Year’s Eve dinner took him on a journey between sea and land, like a walk between Rome and Manhattan.
Campocori at Hotel Chapter Roma, inspired by Italian restaurants in 1930s New York, offers a Christmas menu that celebrates the authentic flavors of Roman and Italian tradition. From Stracciata Romana to Tortelli di Cappone served in saffron broth, followed by Pluma Iberica, Puntarelle, and savory Alici. To end on a sweet note, the classic Panettone with Zabaione.
The party continues on New Year’s Eve with a dinner that alternates between seafood and meat dishes.
Versilia – The Open Sky on New Year’s Eve
At the 67 Sky Lounge, suspended between sea and sky, travelers found the perfect place to wait for midnight.
The music, the waves, the lights…
Here, the New Year’s Eve dinner was an elegant party that seemed to hover above the water.
Here, dining becomes an emotional experience, accompanied by live music and a grand soirée atmosphere: a refined and contemporary way to welcome the new year, with the lightheartedness of those who know how to enjoy beauty.
Tuscany – The Land of Wines
At Tenuta Ruffino, the table smelled of boxwood, wood, and earth.
The Christmas lunch was as warm as a distant home.
New Year’s Eve dinner was a toast in which the wine told centuries of history.
Founded in 1877 in Pontassieve, near Florence, Ruffino is one of Tuscany’s most iconic wineries and a symbol of Italian wine around the world. At Ristorante Tre Rane, Christmas and New Year’s Eve are celebrated amid the scents of Tuscany and the elegance of Casa Ruffino. The cuisine interprets the territory with contemporary techniques and respect for the raw ingredients, the same care with which Ruffino wines have been produced since 1877. Tasting menus dedicated to the holidays, interesting pairings, and a final toast that tells the authentic taste of Tenuta Poggio Casciano. An intense, convivial, and heartwarming experience to be enjoyed among wine, creativity, and tradition.
Rome – Ritual Cuisine
At Six Senses Rome, travelers discovered cuisine that was almost meditative.
Bright dishes, clear colors, clean flavors.
The Christmas Lunch had the calm of a wellness ritual; the New Year’s Eve Dinner had the elegance of great beginnings. The menus created by the Chef revisit Italian classics with contemporary accents: contrasts of textures, citrus notes, references to the Mediterranean. Each course is designed as a ritual, a balance between wellness and pleasure, between aesthetics and substance.
Matera – Deep Roots
In Vetera, among the Sassi, Christmas smelled of warm bread, cavatelli pasta, and traditional desserts.
It was a Christmas lunch that took him back to his childhood.
The New Year’s Eve dinner struck him for its naturalness: a tradition that becomes a contemporary gesture without losing its soul.
At Vetera Matera, cooking becomes an act of memory and rebirth. In the dishes created for the holidays, the raw ingredients of Basilicata are transformed into a story of the present: cavatelli and local bread, slow-cooked meats, traditional desserts such as cartellate, served in a way that enhances authenticity and technique. An immersive gastronomic experience that reflects the deep identity of the Sassi and the warmth of a “home” Christmas, but with the elegance of a great signature table.
Finally, Villa Crespi.
A Moorish hall, golden lights, a suspended atmosphere.
It was there that the traveler decided to stop and wait for the new year: an elegant, quiet, deeply romantic dinner.
In Orta San Giulio, on the shores of Lake Orta, Villa Crespi is a 5-star relais designed by Chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo. For New Year’s Eve 2026, it offers an exclusive package: two nights in a lake view suite, a couples massage in its wellness area, and dinner on December 31 at the Michelin-starred restaurant, to celebrate the arrival of the new year in refined and romantic style.
And then?
The journey ended.
But something remained: the certainty that Christmas is not only experienced in homes, but also in places that welcome, tell stories, and excite.
Every Christmas lunch rekindled a memory.
Every New Year’s Eve dinner opened up a possibility.
Because, after all, holidays are not dates:
they are stories to be lived.
