Christmas in Italy

The Christmas holidays are approaching and this type of celebration are always very linked to the culture of the country, in fact, every country celebrates it differently. Italy has a great tradition of Christmas and I would like to inform you of what are our customs in this period.

In general in Italy Christmas has points in common with other states as the Christmas tree and exchange gifts but it also has many particularities.




The first thing that comes to my mind when I think to Christmas in Italy is the food. In particular, we have three foods of all Italy typical of this period: the panettone, the pandoro and the torrone.

Il panettone e il pandoro

Panettone was originally from Milan and is obtained from a leavened dough made of water, flour, butter, egg yolk, to which are added candied fruits, candied orange and cedar in equal parts, and raisins. Pandoro has Veronese origins and its dough is soft and golden in color, due to the presence of eggs, and smells of vanilla. The shape is a trunk, with star-shaped pads and there are Pandoro variant with cream or chocolate.

Il torrone

Torrone consists of egg white, honey and sugar, stuffed with almonds, walnuts, peanuts or toasted hazelnuts. It has two variants: the hard and soft nougat, while more recently there is the chocolate torrone.

Gli zampognari

A typical tradition of the southern country is that of zampognari or men dressed as shepherds and equipped with bagpipes, which descend from the mountains, playing Christmas music.

Il presepe 

Finally one of the Christmas elements that is more attributable to Italy is the crib. Almost all families in Italy, when the winter holidays approach, have a crib at home. Also in many villages Christmas market and cribs are set up on the street like in Bolzano, Arco and Trento.

However, in Italy Christmas it is important because you are with the family and is a period of sharing, solidarity and kindness.

Have a good winter holidays!

My favorite places in Italy

Hi everybody!

I have seen some places around the world but I can say that I traveled much more in my home country and this is a list, in my opinion, of the best places I have seen in Italy.



1. Venice and Piazza San Marco

When I was young I have been in Venice about four or five  times and every time it was a real surprise. Venice is a city that gives always wonderful feelings and let you incredible memories. In particular I remember of Venice the San Marco square where there is also the cathedral, Ponte di Rialto, Burano and Murano: two famous island near Venice, the first one is famous for the typical houses and the second for the art of working glass.



2. Camogli














Camogli is a popular beach town in Liguria and has, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful beaches in Italy. I think it's a very beautiful experience also walk around the city and visit pastry shop, trying the typical Camogli sweets: the Camogliesi.



3. Altare della patria














Also called Vittoriano, is a National Monument in honor of Vittorio Emanuele II located in Rome, on the Capitol. I like it because it's in the center of Rome and so It's nice to go there with friend and it is also near other monument like the Colosseum or the Circus Maximus.



4. Frasassi caves



These extraordinary caves, located in Marche are due to the stratification of the limestone contained in water droplets. According to me, these caves have a great atmosphere and would let any visitor astonished.



5. Ponte di Legno

This beautiful small town in northern Italy struck me by its simplicity and bright colors f its houses. During summer walking in this village is very relaxing while during winter it is a main point to reach ski slopes.



6. Florence

There are so many reasons to visit Florence, first of all, it is a city of art and consequently is full of museums, monuments and churches, especially the amazing cathedral. Then, I personally love the Florentines foods like the famous "bistecca alla Fiorentina".

7. Ponza

Ponza is an island west of Naples and I am very attached to this place because I've been there many times, even very young, and I can say that it is one of the most beautiful seaside town in Italy. The island also has a very famous beach: "Chiaia di Luna". A nice experience is also to go by boat to the nearby island of Palmarola, a nature reserve with wonderful scenery.

8. Tremosine

I have been very impressed by Tremosine, because this is situated on a cliff 350 meters high from Lake Garda. There are many hotels with terrace from where you can see a unique view of the lake and also the nature outside the city is worthy of note.



9. Castel Sant'Angelo


This is without a doubt my favorite monument in Rome. The reasons are many, is surrounded by trees, in the evening there is a special atmosphere and finally the incomparable view from the top of the castle.



10. Vioz

Finally I put in this list a place that it is hardly compare to other not only in Italy, but in all over the world. This refuge is located at the top of Mount Vioz, 3500 meters high, and offers a view of all the nearby mountains, and if there are no clouds, also  of the nearby villages. Next to Vioz there is Punta Linke, one of the focal points of World War I and is considered currently the highest museum in Europe the  with its 3600 meters.

I would like to conclude saying that my favorite thing of Italy, and that I hope I have transmitted it to you, it is its variety of landscapes, people and traditions. To understand Italy it is not enough to see only a city, but you should visit each town in each region. Obviously also see it for a few days is a fantastic experience that I wish you can try. 

5 Differences between Italy and Finland

Hi everyone!

Recently two months have passed since I arrived in Finland and I think I understand something of this country, so I decided to compare it with my home country and see what are the main differences and the things that have most surprised me.




1  Nature

This has been the first thing I noticed in Finland: since I took the train from Helsinki to Suonenjoki I saw kilometers and kilometers of forests, interrupted occasionally by some wonderful lake and it was just awesome. I have also been in cities like Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Kokkola and it was amazing to see how these are full of trees and surrounded by nature. I have seen that many Finns are not surprised to see so many lakes and an interrupted forest, and I can understand it because they see it every day, but for me, coming from Rome has been a really appreciated news.




2  People

This was probably the most important difference because in Italy I used to see a lot of people every day and always have someone to talk to, but here is a little more difficult. In fact it often happens that people do not greet or remain silent. Obviously not all Finns are like this, as in Italy we are not all friendly and noisy but there are shy people, so here I met people who never stop talking. In Finland is simply more hard to find new friends, but when it happens you create a very strong bond. Finally, in the place where I am there are very few people then those few times when you can spend time with friends become very important.




3  To thank

This is a very simple, but also a very nice point. My impression is that here in Finland people thanks for everything! I really love this thing: people thank the bus driver, the waiters and I even heard that in some classes the students thanked their teachers. But my favorite is to thank when you have finished eating, I really don't know why other countries don't do this, I think it is a very polite attitude and it should be brought in particular to Italy where meals are an important moment of the day.




4  Criminality


Premise that I am not an expert in this area so whatever I will say will be just a result of my impressions, I noticed that on average the criminality is very low, especially outside the big cities like Helsinki, Turku and Tampere, where it is anyway less than many cities in other countries. I think it is mainly due to the conception of society, I've seen that most of the people is very respectful of others and as a result, they are honest. My country, unfortunately, is also known for the Mafia, and I understand that. It is a serious problem and, in addition to this, sometimes people do not care of others and think only of themselves creating serious issues such as tax evasion and corruption. This is why I was so surprised of the standard of living here.




5  School


The school has been and is still the thing I most love in Finland because here it is really special. The idea of choose the subjects each period is something that really makes me interest to topics and very curious to try new subjects. Also in Italy you can choose but only one time at the age of 14. After the middle school in fact you can choose the kind of high school like classic, scientific, artistic, etc. but then all classes have the same subjects for all the year. I prefer much more the school system here because I think that this give more liberty to students which are no longer forced to study subjects they don't like. In addition to this there is a collaborative relationship between teachers and students, and usually all students have a personal computer or tablet, and the results are obvious! The Finnish school is in fact considered one of the best in the world.




That said, I do not mean that one of these countries is better than the other because they are both special, both have significant and less significant things: I greatly appreciate the nature and sincerity of the people of Finland while in Italy I love the beauty of the places and the sensation everywhere you go  to feel at home. Finally I would recommend anyone to visit at least once these two countries because they are full of surprises and can give strong emotions.

Something About Me

Hi everyone!

I decided to make this post to say something about me, my family and my hobbies. In Italy I live in Rome with my parents and my brother, Flavio, and I frequent the fourth year of a scientific high school. Here I live in a farm near a small village called Vesanto and I frequent the second year of lukio (high school). As I already said I have got a lot of hobbies: I like to play piano, play chess, help my mother to cook and study philosophy, languages ​​and scientific subjects like chemistry, biology and physics. The only sport that I like is volleyball but I don't play it for a long time. I really love traveling and this was the most important reason that prompted me to stay six months away from home. In my life I have been with my family in French, Netherlands, and, when i was very young, in China. Then I traveled alone in England and in Ireland as a study trip to learn better English, of course I also visited a lot of places in Italy. I like languages ​​because i think it is an important way to understand a different culture and a different type of thinking and I would like to encourage all readers to try this kind of experience because it can really change your life: in addition to realize that there are cultures completely different from that which you lived in, lets you understand better even your own country. Finally I think this is one of the most useful methods to grow and understand better the world.

See you soon!

My First Post

Hi everyone! 

My name is Andrea, I am 17 years old and I live in Rome. 

Well... usually I live in Rome, in fact currently I am in Finland as an exchange student and I will come back in Italy in three months.

I decided to create this blog to talk about myself and my experiences but for now I don't want to talk about only one argument, I like to travel so probably I will talk about countries that i visited and of course about Finland and the differences with my home country. I have got also many interests and hobbies so I could also say something about school, movies and video games reviews and  even cooking! That said, I hope you will enjoy and see you soon!