The ancient Saint Orso craft fair in Aosta

Every year the city of Aosta is home to the Saint Orso Fair dedicated to the Aosta Valley craft work.

This year the fair is held on the 30th and 31st of January, with artisans coming from all over the region.

The fair has a long tradition that dates back to 1000. Legend tells that all began in the area of Saint Orso Church. Just opposite the church, the Saint, who lived before the ninth century, used to distribute clothing and “sabot”, the traditional wooden clogs still sold at the Fair, to the poor.

The favorite material is wood in all its forms, but there are also artisans of metals, ceramics and fabrics.

Aosta is transformed and visitors are transported into a world of gestures handed down from generation to generation.

For more info www.fieradisantorso.it

Aosta Valley and its white Christmas on the highest mountains

Here we are today in the Aosta Valley where Christmas is magical! An unforgettable stop with its fairytale villages wrapped in a white blanket of snow.

aosta-3

The Aosta Valley is a mountainous region in Northwestern Italy, bordered by France and Switzerland. This small Italian region hosts on its territory the highest and impressive peaks of Europe, giving to the area a unique and charming background.

At the foot of Mont Blanc the symbols of Christmas hark back to the culture and typical values of mountain people. There is hospitality, friendship, simplicity and taste of tradition.

According to a curious legend in the Aosta Valley at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve all the treasures buried became visible because the devils who guarded them in that moment would lose their power. Which, however, would have regained as soon as the priest celebrating Mass had finished reading the Gospel. The children then used to hang on the balcony or the windows small boxes and baskets for gifts.

Continue reading Aosta Valley and its white Christmas on the highest mountains