On New Year’s Eve, cities big and small across Italy turn into nonstop celebration hotspots, with everything from fireworks and outdoor concerts to homemade feasts of lentils and sausage with prosecco toasts…and then some.  And while events and hotels fill up with locals and visitors alike, there’s still time to make plans to spend capodanno in Europe’s boot-shaped country.  Here are some of the Italian ways you can help ring in 2011:

Every December 31, Rome’s Piazza del Popolo is converted into a giant concert venue where pop stars and classical musicians entertain thousands well into the night, only stopping briefly for a fireworks display at midnight.  Also see the Roman skies light up at Castel Sant’Angelo, St. Peter’s, and the Quirinale, which also hosts a classical music concert under the stars.

Fireworks over Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome (photo by eddmsa via flickr)

Florence’s main piazzas also transform into stages: Piazza Stazione at the Santa Maria Novella train station will host rock concerts while in Piazza della Repubblica you can take in some jazz and at Piazza Santissima Annunziata, folk music.  Florentine restaurants also go all out, preparing special menus.  If you’re lucky enough to snag a reservation at a restaurant on the Arno River, you’ll have a prime view of the midnight fireworks.

Venice hosts perhaps one of the most unique celebrations as tens of thousands gather in Piazza San Marco to kiss in the new year during Capodanno Love while a heart-shaped light display brightens the sky.  The next morning, head over to the Lido beach for a frosty dip in the Adriatic Sea.

Or, join us in Siracusa, Sicily, for a special New Year’s Eve cenone, or big dinner, in Ortigia.

Whether you’re sipping spumante in Milan or watching Naples’ famous fireworks display, be sure that when the clock strikes midnight, you wish everyone around you a happy new year by saying, “Auguri!”

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Campania, Florence, Holiday Travel, Italian Holidays, Italy Travel Tips, Milan, Music, Piedmont, Rome, Sicily, Tuscany, Veneto, Venice, Winter in Italy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.