Italy's world famous Christmas markets, with their charming wooden houses that fill city squares along with the sights and smells of the Christmas season, is something that we are going to have to live without this Christmas 2020, at least in Northern Italy. The fairytale Christmas markets in Italy's Alpine region of Trentino-Alto Adige (Trentino-South Tyrol) have already been called off due to the risks associated with COVID-19 in the country.
This decision comes after the Italian government published its latest emergency decree, announced by Giuseppe Conte at the end of October, to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Although the decree doesn't explicitly ban the festive markets, it does prohibit local fairs and community festivals: the province of Trentino-South Tyrol subsequently ruled that this should include their traditional Christmas markets. According to the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, other well-known festive markets in Bolzano, Merano, Bressanone, Brunico and Vipiteno have also been cancelled this Christmas 2020.
2020 would have marked the 27th edition of the market in Trento, Trentino's main city, often known as the "City of Christmas", and was due to kick off later this month on 21st November. The mayor of the city, Franco Ianaselli, made the "difficult but necessary" decision to call off the festive event, something which will be a blow to the region's tourism industry and local economy which comes alive during the winter.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise across Italy, the government has already introduced new confinement measures and restrictions and the pandemic looks set to impact Italy's winter tourism season much as it affected the summer holidays. Along with the Trentino-South Tyrol region, it seems highly probable that the majority of other parts of Italy will follow in the footsteps of the Alpine region and also resort to cancelling their Christmas markets in 2020 as a consequence of the virus.
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