My post yesterday on Tuscany reminded me of the 12-hour Christmas I spent one year at my friend’s table in Rome.

She is from Sicily, her husband is from Bologna, her cousins were from Naples, one of the other guests was Milanese and we were in Rome so we had all the desserts from each of these regions. It was an exceptional panoply of sugars of various types. I left the table at one point to go to see the Pope, after all it was Christmas morning in Rome.

I have also spent Christmas and Easter I believe with my friend in Zagarolo, a town in the Castelli Romani area. There we always have an amazing feast that finishes with ciambelle al vino and the local Cannellino wine made from Malvasia and Trebbiano. While that Christmas lasted for 12 hours, this friend’s wedding went on for approximately four days and much wine and many donuts were consumed.