History History

Typical Central European town, meeting point of the Italian and German cultures, Trento is often defined as "the first Italian town coming down from the Brenner Pass".

For this reason over the centuries it has absorbed traditions from both cultures. The most important and famous is the "Christkindlmarkt", whose origins date back to the XIV century in Germany with the so-called "Saint Nicolaus Markets" that initially were the only occasion during the year to buy Christmas decorations.

The first document reporting  a Christmas market dates 1434 and is called "Striezelmarkt" (market of Striezel, typical German cake); it took place in Dresda on Monday before Christmas.

Later, during the Protestant Reform it was renamed "Christkindlmarkt".