On the night of December 13-12, Italy celebrates Santa Lucia, the festival that anticipates Christmas. It is a tradition of peasant origins that is handed down mainly in the provinces of Cremona, Bergamo, Lodi, Mantua and Brescia.

At one time the winter solstice fell on the very day of December 13, the longest night of the year.

In this illustration I was commissioned for the December issue of Popotus, Santa Lucia brings light and gifts to children. She is in fact the all-Italian female version of Santa Claus!
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Ad: Nicoletta Martinelli
Popotus dicembre 2024