Milanese Celebrations

Ten reasons to visit Milan at Christmas

For tourists it’s a great time to fit in a pre-Christmas trip and indulge in some serious Christmas shopping in one of the world’s fashion capitals…

1 Christmas starts early in Milan with the Sant’Ambrogio festival

7 DECEMBER IS THE FEAST DAY of Milan’s patron saint, Sant’Ambrogio (Saint Ambrose), who was Bishop of Milan during the 4th century. It’s a festival that’s much loved by the Milanese, the time of the Christmas market, and the opening night of the season at La Scala. The day after is , the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Both are public holidays and are referred to collectively as , literally ‘the bridge’, or ‘long weekend’. For tourists it’s a great time to fit in a pre-Christmas trip and indulge in some serious Christmas shopping in one of the world’s fashion capitals, while taking in