Little-known Christmas markets in Italy: Trentino, Friuli and Piedmont far from the crowds

Seeking out little-known Christmas markets in Italy means choosing the village over the city: Bolzano, Merano and Govone are still lovely, but in December you cross them elbow to elbow. In Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Piedmont, by contrast, there are smaller gatherings, often packed into a handful of weekends, where the stalls sit inside cellars, stables and medieval walls, and craftsmanship beats the identical little chalets. Here is where to go between November and December, with the villages that are worth the trip on their own.

Trentino and Alto Adige

In Trentino the benchmark is the Christmas Market of Rango, in the municipality of Bleggio Superiore, between Lake Garda and the Terme di Comano: more than seventy exhibitors set up in the hallways, attics and old farmhouses of the village, opened only for the occasion, with the Bleggio walnut cake as the specialty. It is free and takes place over a few weekends from mid-November to late December. Further north, in the Val Venosta, the Advent of Glorenza is worth the trip: the smallest walled town in Alto Adige concentrates its market into a single weekend around 8 December, with some forty producers from Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, torches along the ramparts and Advent choirs. If you prefer to move on foot among the festivities, the Merano area stays within reach for the climb up to Castel Tirolo, while in the Val di Non the hermitage of San Romedio, clinging to the rock, is a detour that pays off in winter.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Friuli-Venezia Giulia plays the card of its Alpine language islands. At Sauris, a village of Germanic origin in the heart of the Carnia, the market "In der Zahre seint de Bainachn" fills the little squares of Sauris di Sopra over the Immaculate Conception bank-holiday weekend (usually 6-8 December): wooden chalets, PGI ham, mountain-hut cheeses and visits to the brewery and the ham factory. Down on the plain, Cividale del Friuli, a Longobard town and UNESCO heritage site, brings December to life with its market between Corte Brosadola and Piazza Paolo Diacono, the elves' village and the historic nativity scene of the Ursuline Sisters, plus the nativity on the Natisone at the Ponte del Diavolo. From here the day rounds out with two underrated Friulian stops: Venzone, the village rebuilt stone by stone after the 1976 earthquake, and the abbey of Sesto al Reghena, twelve centuries of history amid the fields. Those travelling towards the lagoon can finish with the mosaics of Aquileia, splendid even in the low winter light.

Piedmont

In Piedmont the market to note down is the Village of Father Christmas at the Ricetto di Candelo, in the Biella area: the medieval fortress-village, built to safeguard wine and harvests, fills up on the weekends between late November and mid-December with more than a hundred and fifty Piedmontese artisans, its cellars turned into shops of Alpine cheeses, honey and wine. It is an entire village that sets the stage, not a square with a few stands. For those wanting altitude and silence, in the Val Chisone the Pragelato market is also held around 8 December, between the oratory and the Walser-Provençal hamlets, with mountain crafts and the Advent market at the Casa degli Escartons. We are a step away from the Val di Susa, where the Sacra di San Michele dominates the valley: a demanding but memorable climb to pair with the holidays. Staying in the city, the Borgo Medievale di Torino on the Po offers a snug alternative to the chaos of the centre, while in the Valsesia the Sacro Monte di Varallo, with its frescoed chapels, is the perfect destination for anyone combining markets and Alpine art.

Practical tips

A few practical tips. Many of these markets last only a few days or just the weekends: always check the dates on the official sites before setting off, because they change every year. Go in the morning or on weekdays to avoid the coaches, dress in layers (in the Val Venosta and the Carnia the temperatures drop sharply) and consider the shuttle services where available, since the villages have limited parking outside the walls. The strength of these gatherings is precisely their small scale: fewer stalls, more real cellars, products that speak of the very valley you are in. It is the best way to experience an Alpine Christmas without trading atmosphere for a queue.