Cari Amici – Dear Friends –
Won’t you join us for our yearly Pranzo di Natale at La Cumbre Country Club? It is a perfect way to start your Holiday Season as this year it will be an incredible Xmas Buffet Brunch!
You will find yourselves in a beautifully decorated Club to celebrate the season, to enjoy each other’s company, to savor a superb selection of exquisite foods, cold and warm, bubbly drinks, desserts and coffee. Here are the details:
Sunday, December 10th, 2017
12:00 Noon
La Cumbre Country Club,
4015 Via Laguna, Santa Barbara
Cost: $50.00 per person (all included)
Dress Code: NO DENIM OF ANY COLOR!
Reservations are required and payment must be enclosed with the reservation.
Deadline for Reservations: MONDAY, DECEMBER 4th, 2017.
Arrivederci al Pranzo! Buone Feste from all of us at ICHF/Circolo Italiano!
P.S. Below, after the reserve/pay section, you will find a short article, “Getting to Know Italy: the Capodanno in Rome, Venice and Naples.” It will be informative and fun.
HOW TO RESERVE AND PAY:
BY CHECK: please click on this LINK for a downloadable and printable RSVP form;
BY CREDIT CARD: please click on the yellow button and then follow directions:
Getting to know Italy: Capodanno in Rome, Venice and Naples
Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Italy is the perfect backdrop to ring in 2018. Il Capodanno, New Year’s Eve, is celebrated across the Boot with lively festivities outdoors, a large feast with family and friends, an intimate dinner or dancing until sunrise.
Firework displays and a midnight brindisi, a toast, in front of the Roman Forum, in the heart of Florence, along the canals of Venice or, even in a small town, will ensure that a New Year’s in Italy is one to remember. Here are three of our favorite New Year’s celebrations:
Rome
A large city such as Rome has many venues to celebrate New Year’s. One of the most popular places has always been Piazza del Popolo. During the evening, Italians celebrate with free concerts, dancing and a midnight firework display. The next morning, the piazza is transformed into a children’s area. Children’s eyes grow wide in awe as acrobats and performers offer a free show.
A wonderful exhibit of the Presepe, the nativity scene, is on display at the nearby church of Santa Maria del Popolo.
One of the most impressive outdoor celebrations is found near the Colosseum, on Via dei Fori Imperiali. Music starts around 10pm, and at midnight a firework show soars over the ancient ruins.
Venice
Celebrating in Venice is an elegant affair. Glamorous galas and huge feasts are organized around the city in age-old locales. Diners expect to pay a small fortune, but are given great food and wine.
For those wanting fresh air, St. Mark’s square is the answer. The piazza is filled with music, fireworks and a large group kiss when the clock strikes midnight. Partakers fill their glasses with a Bellini, a Venetian cocktail made with Prosecco and peach juice, and toast to the New Year during the Bellini Brindisi.
La Fenice Theater has concerts to celebrate both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. New Year’s Eve, however, hosts an elegant party and midnight toast after the performance.
Sleepy or hung-over partiers can take part in an interesting tradition to ‘freshen up’ – a cold swim in the icy waters of Venice’s Lido Beach on New Year’s Day!
Naples
Lovers of fireworks should head south to Naples. One of the largest displays lights up the city’s Bay, casting gold, red and green reflections onto the water.
The hot place to be is the enormous Piazza del Plebiscito that holds an annual outdoor party with music. Expect to dance deep into the night under the starry sky.
And finally, a tradition that is still alive in Italy, especially in Naples and Rome and for which you should be warned: fireworks are not the only things up in the air!
Naples and Rome are two of the few cities that still practice the tradition of throwing old objects out of the windows! “Out with the old, In with the new” at midnight is taken to a new level as chairs, blow dryers, old plates and glasses and random items fall to liter the streets below!
So if you’re wandering around old Naples or some areas of Rome during Capodanno‘s midnight period, do keep an eye out!