La Befana in Rome

La Befana is a benevolent old woman who flies through Mediterranean Europe to distribute presents to good children and coal to the not so good ones.

Rome's Piazza Navona hosts a traditional Christmas market (December 8 to January 6), complete with Befana, presepi (nativity scenes) and stalls selling Christmas goods. On the sixth of January the Befana herself comes along to hand out presents! The market stalls are set up on December 8th and throughout the next few weeks there are various events. Parents and kids can visit Santa Claus and munch biscotti, torrone and other Christmas delicacies.

Piazza Navona is located on the site of an ancient stadium and throughout the centuries has been used for sports events of all kinds, including regattas and races. Today its most famous attraction is the spectacular Fountain of the Four Rivers, created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1651, under the patronage of Pope Innocent X. The fountain represents the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges and the Rio de Plata. The rivers flow down from an elevated reef supporting a Roman obelisk. Visiting the market provides an opportunity to see two of Rome's other famous and spectacular fountains: the Fountain of the Moor and the Fountain of Neptune, which stands at the northern end of the square.