Christmas is such a special time of year in Italy. The Advent season brings communities together to celebrate, including one of the best – and tastiest – traditions, the Christmas market.

Stalls of handcrafts, food, drink and games pop up in city centers, with something fun and delicious for everyone! Here are a few of the best Christmas markets, perfect for visiting during your holiday in Italy in December.

The holiday season: stressful, magical and filled with love … and anxiety. This year, gather the entire family and escape on a vacation with a Christmas in Italy. Our villas offer enough space for the entire family to reunite and share the special season without the need for extra work in an already busy time of year.

Close to tourist destinations but secluded and private, you’ll find so many ways to make new Christmas memories and keep family traditions in these amazing vacation homes.

If you are venturing to Venice in December, a wonderfully festive time, you may get more excitement than you bargained for. Known worldwide for its villas, doges, exquisite blown glass, festivals and, yes, the legendary canals, Venice also has achieved a certain notoriety for its periodic flooding, during events known as acqua alta, or “high water”. As Venice attractions go, the acqua alta occurrences are hard to include on a scheduled tour, since they are subject to the vicissitudes of many factors, including lunar phases, tidal flows and scirocco winds.

Do you want to know some interesting and fun facts about the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Many people around the world are familiar with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy, which is actually the bell tower of the Pisa Cathedral, but most people don't know why it leans or how it is still standing today. To visit the most famous leaning tower in the world in style, check out the luxury villas in the region.

Italy is highly regarded for, among many things, its diverse cuisine, great climate, picturesque landscapes, impressive villas, and a host of gourmet restaurants serving mouthwatering culinary delights. Some of the best restaurants in Italy are found in the Piedmont region. Piedmont restaurants are specifically well known for maintaining centuries’ old traditional cuisine made from the region’s famous specialties such as truffles, stuffed pasta, hazelnuts, and meat casseroles served with the region’s best wines and a variety of chocolate desserts. Here is a look at the top 6 Piedmont restaurants serving unforgettable traditional Italian cuisine: