The city lights up for Christmas

With the summer holidays a distant memory, and the flavours of autumn gone, it is now time to look forward to Christmas. This is certainly what the commercial district and the council are doing, as they seek, well in advance, to make the town sparkle its best during the Christmas period.

Here is the calendar of some of the essential traditions for Varese, from the lighting of the tall tree, and for Piazza Monte Grappa.

Indeed, the Piazza will be lit up with special lighting effects projected onto the facade of the Chamber of Commerce, and what is more, this year, the Christmas tree in the centre of the Piazza will be particularly full. The preparations for the Christmas festivities in the centre of Varese will be made by ASCOM, and the tree will be sponsored by a family of traditional shopkeepers: the Ambrosettis, of the leather goods shop of the same name.

The Christmas tree will be lit up on 26 November, the day on which a big party is going to be organised, which children from the schools in Varese will be invited. In addition to that, there will also be a lot of initiatives in Piazza Repubblica, in Sacro Monte, and throughout the town centre. In the next few days, a calendar will be out, with all of the Christmas initiatives for the town and for our Sacro Monte. So, the administration, with the precious support of the shopkeepers, is preparing a special Christmas for the town.

Moreover, to have the town lit up for the festivities, with a lot of initiatives for the Christmas period, the council and ASCOM Confcommercio have decided to support the traditional Christmas lights financially, through the Urban Trade District (DUC).

The aim is to create a particularly welcoming atmosphere during the upcoming festivities, to promote the appeal of the town centre and of Christmas shopping. Thanks to the contribution from DUC, adherence to Christmas 2016 will costs €70 instead of the usual €110, except in Via S. Martino, where it will cost €80, in view of the early start with the celebration of the Saint.

“We’re aware this isn’t the easiest of times for the traditional trading,” said Ivana Perusin, the Councillor for Commerce. “We thought we’d form a sort of partnership with the town’s retailers, to make adherence to the initiative more accessible from an economic point of view, and to encourage greater participation, which in the last few of years, has suffered a notable reduction, discouraging also a large number of the shopkeepers who had always participated with enthusiasm. We hope that, with these assumptions, in a spirit of renewed collaboration between public and private, adherence will be massive. Of course, to guarantee the full success of the initiative, at least two thirds of the shopkeepers must join.”