Christmas in Italy: Food and Traditions

Italy lights up for the holidays. Cities and villages are strung with twinkling lights, holiday markets fill the streets and the food and drink are the best part.

Christmas is the biggest holiday of the year in Italy. It is religious, yes, but it is also when family comes together. As the proverb goes, "Natale con i tuoi e Pasqua con chi vuoi" — spend Christmas with your family and Easter with whomever you like. Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch are big meals of traditional dishes that Italians wait for all year.

There is no such thing as "Italian food." Each of Italy's 20 regions has its own culinary traditions, built on its terrain and the ingredients close at hand, even in winter. Many American holiday tables center on ham or roasts. In Italy, no single dish appears on every Christmas table. The one thing they share is a festive meal with family and friends.

From the north

Northern Italian cooking tends to be rich and hearty. Credit the fertile soil, the cooler climate of the Alps and the influence of neighbors France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Fresh pasta is made with eggs instead of dry pasta, and many recipes call for butter instead of extra virgin olive oil. The holiday dishes follow suit. Panettone comes from Lombardia, and pandoro originated in Veneto.

Through the center

Central Italy is known for cucina povera, or "poor cooking," which grew out of rustic ingredients that were cheap and close by: fresh produce, stale bread and beef from nearby grazing cattle. You can still taste it in Toscana and Lazio.

• Tuscany: crostini di fegatini, toasted bread topped with chicken liver pate, remain a holiday favorite. Day-old loaves find a good second life here.
• Rome: expect lasagna on Christmas, followed by a meat course such as lamb allo scottadito.

Down south

The warmer, drier south is known for its range of flavor and texture, with traditional recipes built on simple local products, from seafood to peperoncini. It is the origin of the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, and the feasting continues on Christmas Day. Grilled eel is a popular holiday dish. For dessert, look for buccellati, large round biscuits filled with almonds, pistachios and dried fruit.

Buone Feste — and buon appetito. Put panettone, pandoro and other Italian Christmas foods on your table this year.