Where We Went for Christmas | A Magical Experience in Liguria

This Christmas Lorenzo and I chose somewhere quite magical to enjoy the festive season. A small seaside village where the Ligurian sea laps gently against houses painted in soft enchanting hues. This stretch of coast has long inspired poets and creatives. Known as the Gulf of Poets it once drew Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and Mary Shelley who found inspiration amongst its lush rolling hills and deep blue waters. Close to the famous Cinque Terre this village is quieter, softer, more intimate. A place that preserves its charms and traditions. Visitors seeking a lesser known summer retreat have been exploring these emerald hills and hidden bays for years yet somehow it still remains a secret to many even though it has been named among the most beautiful villages in Italy. The weather was moody that day with clouds heavy drifting across the sky but we were lucky the rain never came. The streets were calm almost hushed though beneath the stillness there was an undercurrent of excitement a quiet sense that something extraordinary was about to begin. Merry Christmas everyone it's the 25th of December and look where we are it's not no no and uh we're not even in Tuscany are we no we are not but we're not very far away but all will be revealed soon we're in this beautiful little fishing village what time did we arrive yesterday about lunchtime ish so yeah lunchtime yesterday we arrived and um we had one incredible night last night yeah it was fantastic we came here for a for a special event which we're going to share with you so whatever you do make sure you keep watching because this is probably one of the most magical things I've seen in Italy I think Lorenzo's seen similar things yeah so many similar things but this place this village is a magical it's a magical we're gonna show you everything what happened last night was fantastic we wanted to come here so many times but we always next year next year and this year we said no we have to go because we love here and then especially last night had a beautiful celebrations and we're going to show you fantastic so this is the spot where we stood for most of the evening not most of the evening but a good hour and it was cold but there was quite a lot of people up here because this was a good viewpoint to watch the event so most of us were looking out towards the sea and obviously we were also looking up at the church there and then also from here we could hear a gospel choir down in the which was quite magical as well so that was our evening on Christmas Eve we left Vico Pisano just after 10 30 in the morning we were only just over an hour's drive away to our destination and luckily for us there was hardly any traffic the skies were heavy with white clouds and at one point we even thought it was snow on the hills before we knew it we had arrived parking here can be a bit of a challenge but thanks to our airbnb host Giampiero everything went smoothly he welcomed us warmly and showed us around the apartment Giampiero also gave us a short tour of the harbour area pointing out where all the festive celebrations would be taking place later that evening by now it was well and truly lunchtime and Giampiero recommended a small local bar which also served hot food called La Piazzetta we were greeted with such warmth and already we were getting a lovely feel from this tiny seaside town we chose a classic Ligurian dish stringoli al pesto accompanied by a crisp glass of Bermondino wine and of course there was a basket of focaccia as this is where it all began after lunch we returned to the apartment to unpack and enjoy a little rest so we're heading down to our apartment and we haven't been here very long and they're already preparing for tonight's festival which involves an awful lot of candles i believe i read somewhere about 5 000 candles so look at this little viewpoint for a christmas eve view how beautiful is this more candles candles are everywhere in a few hours this whole village will be illuminated okay let's head down to our apartment so it's similar to the Cinque Terre really lots of hills lots of steps very pretty pretty colored buildings very friendly people so far so it's about half past four and we're just leaving the apartment now to start our walk so we've booked it to do gosh it's cold out here the apartment is so warm so look the lights are showing up a little bit now we all set and yeah and yeah all right so it's back up the hill to the main piazza and then i think we have to go a little bit beyond so what seems like a tiny little village i think we've got probably about a 10-15 minute walk and it's all uphill all uphill lots of steps and i need to be careful where i'm walking so please excuse me if it gets a little bit shaky now and again oh i can hear christmas music so here we are back in the main square it's tiny that's where we had lunch today look how pretty it looks so basically we've just passed through the heart of the village that's it it's tiny this is quite exciting isn't it we're watching everywhere we walk it's a little bit uneven and this is so exciting all the candles at this part of the village are now lit oh there's a car coming and i don't know if you can see them behind me there look okay but we'll give you a better view lorenzo's busy looking at his phone for directions of where we have to meet this group so basically we found their instagram page and we saw that they were doing this event where you could do a little walking tour of the village by candlelight i think we don't really know um they asked for a donation of 10 euro but we get a glass of vin brulee for that and uh just thought it'd be nice to do something it's always nice to do things with locals don't you think okay keep climbing thought i'd stop to film these little glimpses of the sea as we head towards our meeting point so beautiful so we've just reached the meeting place these two ladies are going to be our guides and uh yeah we're looking forward to it we set off along a narrow lane flanked by pink houses with green shutters the lane soon narrowed into a shadowy pathway and we had to switch on our phone torches we had no idea where this hidden trail would lead and then there it was this is absolutely stunning so we've just turned a corner to see this bay all illuminated and the little trail continues and we're following our guide volunteers were still carefully lighting the candles the wind made it tricky to ignite the thick wicked glass jars but the scene was breathtaking absolutely magical our guide led us back along the rugged coastline phone torches cutting through the darkness this was only the beginning of the magic now we were heading into the very heart of the event we headed back into the village walking single file along candlelit medieval lanes a labyrinth of narrow passages led us gently downhill towards the water's edge in the small harbour where we arrived to the glistening twinkling glow of hundreds of candles it was hard to believe it was only 5 25 in the afternoon the sky was a deep blue black and reflections from the candles danced across the sea it was almost impossible to take it all in especially knowing that we were still hours away from the main event this magical event first took place in 1969 and is now celebrating its 56th edition it is organized locally by the village's sporting and community associations with the support of the parish volunteers and the wider community i remember our guide telling us that the event was originally the idea of some some young local lads who came up with the idea each year hundreds of local volunteers help prepare the thousands of candles placed throughout the village especially along the rocks and narrow streets bringing the whole village to life in a shimmering glow this beloved tradition blends religious celebration centered on the nativity with the spirit of a seafaring community a symbol of their deep connection to the sea their faith and the shared joy of coming together our tour came to an end around 6 30 so i think it's now time for a vin brulee although i'm not quite sure it's been magical so far and we haven't even got to the main event yet just stunning we finished dinner in plenty of time to enjoy the warm-up act at 10 pm a gospel choir that kept us all warm with just 15 minutes to go the church bells rang out across the bay loud insistent full of anticipation it was 10 45 and by now the we stood huddled together on a raised walkway above the sea the wind howling around us nobody willing to move then out of the dark water we noticed movement a small cluster of lights drifting slowly away from the shore the gospel choir echoed behind us but all eyes were fixed as the lights grew closer the magic revealed itself divers moving beneath the surface each carrying a lit torch through the water towards the little harbour they swam in perfect synchrony until they formed a circle and suddenly the sea itself began to glow the water lit up a luminous electric blue a collective gasp swept through the crowd followed by an applause from the heart of that glowing circle the divers emerged carrying something precious a small statue of the baby jesus bought ashore from beneath the sea the figure we later learned was a gift from pope john paul ii a detail that made the moment feel even more extraordinary from our vantage point the arrival was clear but the final handover to the waiting priest happened just beyond our view for that reason the image you see here is a photograph kindly shared with us by marco abruzzo allowing us to show the baby jesus more closely than we were able to witness in person in that moment we weren't just watching a spectacle we were witnessing a seafaring village retell the nativity in its own way not on land but rising from the depths of the sea as the prayers ended the night sky opened up in celebration fireworks burst above the harbour their reflections dancing across the water a final gift from the village to mark this incredible moment we've chosen not to mention the name of the village part of the magic is discovering it yourself if you look closely in the video there's a hint in reference to the organizers for tips on how to experience places like this join our newsletter for more stories and fuller details you'll find the link in the angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o'er the plain and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strays in excelsis deo come to bethlehem and see him whose birth the angels