Recommended: The Ultimate Design Insiders’ Guide to Milan. Il Ristorante Niko Romito. Photo: Courtesy of the Bulgari Hotel Milan. 6. Il Ristorante Niko Romito. The Bulgari Hotel’s airy Il Ristorante Niko Romito, helmed by Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito, is effortlessly chic, with its stylish wood-and-leather banquettes. Santa Lucia and La Befana. For most Italians, the celebration of the Christmas season begins on Christmas Eve, or shortly before, and runs until the Epiphany—the traditional Twelfthtide. Some, though, date the beginning of the season at the Immaculate Conception, on December 8, while others still start the observance on December 6 with the 12 Must-See Italian Paintings. 1. Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (1452- 1519) Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. The painting of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is priceless and has been described as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about and the most parodied work of art in the world”. Assisi is a stunning village in the Umbrian region of Italy. The town is famous for being the home of Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis is the patron saint of animals, and was born around 1181. Assisi in Umbria. The main attraction is the Basilica di San Francesco in honor of Francis of Assisi. Light. Light and shade exist in a painting in two forms. Tone is simply the lightness and darkness of areas of a picture, graded from white to black. Tonal arrangement is a very significant feature of some paintings. Chiaroscuro is the modelling of apparent surfaces within a picture by the suggestion of light and shadow. While tone was an Bari. Abundant in photogenic cities and blessed with glorious countryside, Italy is nicknamed Il Bel Paese, The Beautiful Country, for a reason. Apart from the obvious choices, such as Venice, Rome and Florence, there are countless other beautiful cities in Italy, some of which are mercilessly underrated. The focus of the Florence Light Festival is always that light is a source of universal energy. It is the illumination of the mind, the thought that overcomes the limits of knowledge, to dare the new, to experiment, and to innovate. Some of the monuments that are highlighted are: The Ponte Vecchio. Palazzo Vecchio. Palazzo Medici Riccardi. Christmas lights in Italy are put up somewhere around early to mid November (depending on the town/city) and are usually up until mid January. These holiday lights really magnify the atmosphere of the festival. There is an indescribable romance and coziness in the air and the markets and piazzas look twice as nice. KOSP.