Countdown to Christmas- Italian Style! December 10

                                                                    photo courtesy theartfulcrafter.com


Welcome back to Day 10 (dieci) of my Countdown to Christmas, Italian Style.

Today I'm sharing the Christmas market at Campo San Polo with you. There are Christmas markets all over Italy, usually open from the beginning of December until Christmas eve. Some are more famous than others, such as the one in Piazza Navona in Rome and the one in Verona. They are very similar to the very famous German and Austrian Chriskindlmarts.  The little stalls sell food, drinks, and crafts by local artisans. They are a perfect way to spend a day wandering through the little Christmas village, and purchasing  unique Christmas presents.

Ours here in Campo San Polo is very small compared to the others, but none the less, it's a way in which we now Christmas is right around the corner in Venice. It's in the same campo as the skating rink  ( see Countdown to Christmas Day 9) so it's an ideal way to spend an hour or two while the kids are skating!

I can never resist a porchetta sandwich from this vendor!

Smoked mozzrella - scamorza

I hope you are enjoying a taste of Christmas in Venice.

For more information on Christmas markets in Italy click on this link http://www.christmasmarkets.com/Italy.html

If you've ever been to a Christmas market anywhere in Italy, I'd love for you to share your experience with m by posting a comment below.


Buon Natale!

Ice skating rink open in Campo San Polo

On December 9th, the largest ice skating rink ever set up in Venice was opened to the public in Campo San Polo. It will be open until the end of Carnevale on February 21, 2012.   (Hours are Mon-Thurs 3-7pm, Friday 3-9 pm, Sat 11-9pm and Sunday 11-7pm)  Along with the ice rink there is also a small Mercatino - shopping area- where there are some stalls set up for vendors selling foods.

This is not me in the photo, although I will admit I am very tempted to take a spin around the rink.  Not sure if that's something my new knee would be happy about though! In the center of the rink is an interesting structure that is lit up at night.  I love how it sits right on top of the campo's pozzo (well)!  When we were at Campo San Polo yesterday afternoon, there was a good number of families enjoying the skating. It's good to see this kind of activity for a change. Normally we just see crowds of tourists. 

I'm a mercatino girl, I just can't get enough of them. We used to have a nice sized mercatino di Natale in Campo Santo Stefano, however that hasn't happened in the last two years. I'm very happy to see this small one at San Polo, and I'm sure I'll be back several times to purchase cheeses and salami's during the coming weeks.  Here's a few photos of the vendors stalls at Campo San Polo for you to get a good idea what it's like.

Several varieties of cannoli- covered with chopped nuts, chocolate chips, and my favorite- with maraschino cherries on both ends!

These are all marzapan candies!!Lots of them!

 This liquirizia (licorice) from Calabria looked like large chunks of coal. I wonder how many kids will be getting some of this in their stockings!

A beautiful summer evening in a Venetian campo, and a little Johnny Depp- not too shabby

It's summertime in Venice, and that means time for outdoor movies in Campo San Polo.

Every summer, Campo San Polo becomes a bit busier with the construction of the outdoor theatre that will be used from the end of July  until the beginning of September. I've walked by here countless times, always wondering what an outdoor movie would be like. This year when I saw the lineup of movies, and noted that one in particular was being shown in English, I made sure to get it on my calendar.

We haven't been out to a movie since we moved here. Movies aren't particularly easy to get to, you have to go to the Lido or into Mestre for a good selection of current run films.  There is one cinema in Cannaregio, however most movies are in Italian without subtitles in English. That pretty much rules it out for us, we need the subtitles.

Tuesday evening, we ate a little earlier in order to ensure we'd be at San Polo at 8pm when the box office opened. We needn't have rushed, there were only a handful of people besides ourselves. While I was convinced this performance would be crowded, Mike disagreed. Looks like he was going to win this one.  I waited patiently in line for tickets.  The box office didn't open at 8. Typical Italian, I found myself thinking!  Due to technical difficulties, it was more like 8:20.  I eventually bought tickets. While I waited in line, Mike walked to the nearby cafe for a cup of coffee.

Mike didn't get his coffee.  It turns out the cafe in Campo San Polo has recently changed ownership. No longer can you stop just for drinks. If you aren't eating, you;re not sitting.  This is unfortunate. Over the years we've frequented this cafe numerous times, always for a coffee or a cold drink.  Mike also tried the pizza place on the other end of the campo- same thing. If you aren't eating, you aren't being served. Since we had enough time until the movie started at 9:30, we made the short walk over to Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio. Finally, coffee!

I wanted to be back at Campo San Polo at 9:00 pm when the doors to the movie opened to ensure I'd get a seat I would be ok with.  This isn't regular movie theatre seating where the rows are like an amphiteatre. Here all the seats are on the same level, and I wanted to be able to see - just in case a tall person sat down in front of me.  Just as I predicted, I ended up having to move seats twice in order to be able to see without an obstructed view.  And who sits down 2 seats away from me? The ex-Mayor of Venice!  Looks like I'm not the only person eager to see this movie.  Before long, the place was filled!

Here's a few things I noted about summer movies in Campo San Polo for the next time I go:
- Bring snacks. There is no popcorn concession here.
- Dress up. The Italian women were all in dresses, the men in dress slacks and shirts.
- Don't arrive so early.  It's fashionable to arrive only a few minutes before showtime.

You have probably guessed it by now. Yes, we were all at Campo San Polo to see The Tourist, with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.  I'm sure many in the audience, like myself, had seen the movie before. Non importa, (it's not important)- we were all there to see Venice on the big screen.  We'd all lived through several months of these super stars being in our midst the year prior, and had waited eagerly to see the results of all their hard work.

Anyone intimiately familiar with Venice will know instantly that this film contains some very creative editing. Venice in the movie isn't quite Venice in reality. One scene in particular where Elise is dropping Frank off at the airport is a good example.  As she is pulling the boat away and you watch her motor towards St. Mark's square, it appears that the airport is located at the Giudecca!!  As we all watched the movie, it was clear everyone in the audience  recognized each  and every one of those "creatively edited" scenes as well! None the less, everyone seemed be quite pleased to see their city up there on the big screen. Venice is Venice, afterall.  The last line of the movie sums it up beautifully...."Well, not just anywhere."

There's a pretty good lineup of movies going on this summer. If you are visiting Venice between now and the end of the first week in September, you might consider catching a movie in Campo San Polo. You never know, I might just be in the audience with you!


Here's a link to the schedule of movies playing this summer:
http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/0%252F9%252F7%252FD.0030c20de3b6217845f6/P/BLOB%3AID%3D47958