Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Southern lights

Images Fleur Kinson

Hoping to soak up the Christmas atmosphere somewhere this December? Fleur Kinson suggests taking a new direction and heading south to Sorrento

You can’t wrap it up in shiny paper or squeeze it under the prickly arms of the Christmas tree, but it’s what millions of people give themselves for Christmas every year. It is, of course, a quick getaway. Just a few days somewhere, shortly before the festivities really kick in, to buy exotic gifts, admire the twinkly lights, and generally absorb the festive ambience.

The usual target is a charming northern European city with a magical Christmas market. All that spicy gingerbread and steaming Glühwein! All those cute, hand-carved wooden trinkets! Some carol-singing, a spot of ice-skating, and plenty of Santa kitsch.

But surprisingly few of us have cottoned on to how lovely southern Europe can be in the run-up to 25 December. Especially Italy, a country that excels in so many of the things that Christmas is all about: gorgeous ornaments, stunning food, and an almighty reverence for family.

A festive feast

Some of Italy’s best-loved places are arguably lovelier just before Christmas than they are at the height of summer. Sorrento is a perfect example. This unashamed tourist town, on a rocky cliff overlooking the magnificent Bay of Naples, is crowded with foreign visitors all summer long. They come for the sheer pleasure of meandering through Sorrento’s buzzy lanes and piazzas. They come for the lively cafés and bars, and the boisterous night-time passeggiata (the communal stroll around town).

In December these pleasures are undiminished, but the town is full of high-spirited locals rather than foreign holiday-makers. As Christmas approaches, Sorrento’s outdoor market stalls groan beneath the weight of sumptuous food hampers, or stand ablaze with shiny gift-wrapped boxes of panettone (Italian Christmas cake). Nip into the town’s diminutive churches and you’ll find enchanting presepi – elaborate Nativity scenes wrought from antique figurines. Outside, delicate lights sparkle up the trunks of the palm trees and illuminate every arching frond. Excited crowds gather, and the whole town hums with colour and life.

On Sorrento’s winter shopping streets, summer colour is everywhere – in the ubiquitous bright bottles of limoncello, in the cascades of vivid dried chillies, and in the bounty of gigantic citrus fruits harvested from the rudely fertile local soil. And fecundity isn’t limited just to the stuff in the shops. Sorrento is a hugely popular wedding venue for the loved-up people of nearby Naples.

On any Saturday in December, you’ll see crowds of well-wishers throwing rice at newly married couples. And the Italian style of wedding portraiture is quite racy, so expect plenty of public embraces and lascivious looks between the dolled-up partners. No cold-hearted winter chill here!

A time of sharing

Naturally, you’ll want to snap up some glossy gifts to placate the folks back home. The classic souvenir is limoncello – Sorrento’s sweet lemon liqueur. For novelty bottles in wacky shapes, check out the many specialist shops on Via Cesareo and Via Fuoro. You can watch limoncello being made, and sample different blends, at Limonoro (49-53 Via San Cesareo), at I Giardini di Cataldo (27 Via Correale), and at Correale Distillerie (12 Via Baranica).

The other traditional Sorrento souvenir is anything decorated with inlaid wood or intarsia – a craft practised here for centuries. Think hand-made chess sets, intricate little boxes, trays, pictures, and so on. Sorrento’s best spots to buy – or just admire – intarsia are the workshops of Salvatore Gargiulo (33 Via Fuoro), Franc and Guglielmo Cuomo (32 Piazza Tasso) and, of course, Gargiulo & Jannuzzi (1 Viale Enrico Caruso).

Wandering Sorrento’s narrow lanes full of little shops is a delight, in the winter as in the summer. But in December cascades of tiny bulbs brighten every shopfront, and big, bold illuminated stars are strung against the narrow sky. As darkness descends, so the air of excitement ratchets up. This is southern Italy and, even in December, all the shops will be bustling with activity till 8pm. And then the passeggiata will begin.

On a Saturday night in December, Sorrento’s streets are packed until well into the small hours. The whole population of the town is out, their numbers swollen by Neapolitans visiting for the weekend. Every age group is here – children, teenagers, the elderly, the middle-aged. All strolling, chatting, buzzing with the excitement of nothing in particular. They stop at cafés and ice-cream shops, they hail friends and family, they wander on again. It’s ridiculously convivial, and points to one of the great blessings of a benign climate: you can wander the streets for fun on most nights of the year.

Regularly strolling your hometown en masse builds a great sense of community, and in December Sorrento’s community is at its height. On a summer night, the place would be packed with welcome foreign visitors, but in the heart of winter, just about everyone you see is a Sorrentine or a Neapolitan, behaving with all the verve and style that suggests – dressed to the nines and flirting outrageously.

To watch them at their stylish best, be sure to check out Sorrento’s coolest bars: Insolito (38e Corso Italia), Il Fauno (13-15 Piazza Tasso), with its disco next door, and Photo (19 Via Correale), with its arty wall projections and trendy DJs.

Wherever you wander, you can’t help but be dazzled by exuberant lights along the way. In Piazza Tasso, a conical Christmas tree is a blaze of white dots. On all the central streets, the contours of buildings – doorways, windows, ledges and roofs – are carefully outlined in strips of lights. Against the black sky, they turn Sorrento into a graphic cartoon, all its lines and curves drawn in electric white. It’s appropriate, because Sorrento is a place of fantasy – wholly dedicated to pleasure. It’s a pretty bauble whose sole aim is to shine and make you smile. And in the run-up to Christmas, Sorrento is shining its brightest of the year.

FR Lumières du Sud

Le Sud de l’Europe peut être une destination très agréable durant la période des fêtes de Noël. Ici, à Sorrento par exemple, lorsque les touristes ont plié bagages, vous pouvez partager l’animation des rues et des “piazzas” avec les gens du coin

En décembre, les échoppes du marché en plein air de Sorrento abondent de paniers de victuailles et de paquets de panettone (gâteau de Noël italien), emballés dans du papier cadeau. Dans les églises, vous trouvez des presepi enchanteurs – des scènes très élaborées de la nativité représentées avec des figurines antiques.

Partout où vous poserez les yeux, vous découvrirez des bouteilles colorées de Limoncello, des poivrons séchés en grappes et de gigantesques agrumes cultivés dans la région. Mais il n’y a pas que les denrées dans les magasins qui sont fécondes. Sorrento est un lieu populaire pour les mariages des jeunes gens des environs de Naples. Chaque dimanche de décembre, vous verrez des foules de supporters occupés à lancer du riz aux nouveaux mariés. En outre, le style du mariage à l’italienne est assez exubérant, attendez-vous donc à moult embrassades en public et à des regards langoureux entre les amoureux pomponnés.

Si vous voulez ramener un cadeau souvenir, le Limoncello est un classique – la liqueur sucrée au citron de Sorrento. Vous en trouverez au Limonoro (Via San Cesareo 51-53), aux I Giardini di Cataldo (Corso Italia 267), et à la Distillerie Correale (Via Tasso 20).

L’autre souvenir traditionnel est tout objet décoré avec des incrustations de bois ou intarsia. Jeux d’échecs fait mains, boîtes gigognes, plateaux ou images ne sont que quelques exemples des intarsia proposés. Les meilleurs endroits où se les procurer sont les ateliers de Salvatore Gargiulo (Via Fuoro 33), de Franc et Guglielmo Cuomo (Piazza Tasso 32) et bien entendu de Gargiulo & Jannuzzi (Viale Enrico Caruso 1).

Alors que le jour décline, commence le passeggiata. Le samedi soir, toute la ville sort pour se promener et faire la conversation sur tout et n’importe quoi, avec des intonations animées. Ce jour là, vous ne croiserez que des individus tirés à quatre épingles, flirtant outrancièrement. Pour assister en première ligne à ces réjouissances, entrez dans les bars les plus in de Sorrento : Insolito (Corso Italia 38e), Il Fauno (Piazza Tasso 13-15), et Photo (Via Correde 19).

NL Zuiderse lichtjes

Zuid-Europa kan prachtig zijn in de aanloop naar Kerstmis. De meeste toeristen zijn al vertrokken, zodat je van Sorrento’s drukke straten en marktpleinen kunt genieten met de lokale bevolking

In december vind je in Sorrento stalletjes met eetmanden en geschenkdozen met panettone (Italiaanse kerstcake). In de kerken vind je betoverende presepi (kerstallen) en gedetailleerde kerstvoorstellingen met antieke beelden.

De kleuren van limoncello in flessen, watervallen van gedroogde chilipepers en gigantisch citrusfruit dat lokaal geoogst is, vind je overal terug. En de creativiteit beperkt zich niet tot de winkels. Sorrento is een populair trefpunt voor huwelijken voor jonge mensen uit het nabij gelegen Napels. Op gelijk welke zaterdag in december, zal je gelukwensers rijst zien gooien naar de pas getrouwde koppels. En de Italiaanse stijl van huwelijksportretten is vrij gewaagd, verwacht dus veel publieke omhelzingen en wulpse blikken tussen de uitbundige partners.

Cadeautip: het klassieke souvenir limoncello – Sorrento’s zoete limoenlikeur. Proef limocello (Via San Cesareo 51-53), bij I Giardini di Cataldo (Corso Italia 267), en Distillerie Correale (Via Tasso 20) en sla een voorraadje in.

Een andere traditionele souvenir is alles wat gedecoreerd is met ingelegd hout of intarsia (inlegwerk). Handgemaakte schaakborden, complexe dozen, schalen en kaders zijn maar een paar voorbeelden van intarsia die te verkrijgen zijn. De winkels van Salvatore Gargiulo (Via Fuoro 33), Franc and Guglielmo Cuomo (Piazza Tasso 32) en natuurlijk Gargiulo & Jannuzzi (Viale Enrico Caruso 1) zijn de beste om deze artikelen te kopen.

Als het daglicht vervaagt, begint de passeggiata. Op zaterdagavond komt de hele stad op straat, slenterend, pratend, gonzend van enthousiasme voor niets in het bijzonder eigenlijk. Iedereen die je ziet, zal op zijn best gekleed zijn en overdreven flirten. Bezoek

Sorrento’s populairste bars en zie het met je eigen ogen: Insolito (Corso Italia 38e), Il Fauno (Piazza Tasso 13-15), en Photo (Via Correde 19).

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