GENOA, Italy – If you travel to Italy, you really need to visit Genoa.
With its beautiful port, its picturesque streets and the old town, which is the oldest in Europe, my city will surely charm you at any time of the year.
But if you visit Genoa during Christmas, it will take your breath away.
In December, the city starts to sparkle with a line of never-ending lights and the air smells of roast chestnuts. Loads of street musicians fill the air with Christmas songs, and you feel like you’re in a sort of frozen, enchanting dream.
In the biggest square, Piazza De Ferrari, the water fountain is lit and the water cascades in a beautiful fall of golden tears. The big Christmas tree gazes at you from a corner of the square.
When you start to walk in the small streets, you can’t help but feel warm and happy. In the bakeries’ windows you can see pyramids of “pandolce” (our typical Christmas cake made of pastry and candies) that make your mouth water.
The shops are full of people hurrying to buy presents, hands filled with gifts and colorful bags.
In the oldest streets of Genoa there are still shops that sell hand-crafted nativity statues and Christmas decorations. The owners of these shops are old people who still speak Genoa’s dialect.
Even if description cannot do justice to Genoa’s beauty, I hope I’ve caught your attention. You really need to get lost in its sparkling, enchanting Christmas atmosphere.
Eugenia Durante is a Reporter for Youth Journalism International.