Dreamy Places by Giulio Pugliese

Piazza Navona | (Where is this?)

People cheer in front of Rome's ancient Colosseum as fireworks explode to celebrate the new year  by Andreas Solaro

The Colosseum | (Where is this?)

Happy New Year! (Felice Anno Nuovo!)

The new year celebrations are typically centred in the Piazza del Popolo with music, entertainment and fireworks drawing in crowds from across the city. When welcoming the new year, the people of Italy observe several interesting customs. To name a few;

- An old-fashioned tradition, particularly prominent in the south, is to literally throw out the past and all things old; possessions, such as old clothing or kitchenware, will literally be thrown out of the window as it is believed to be the banishment of bad luck and to symbolise the letting go of unhappiness in preparation for the future. Similarly, seen more in the north, crockery may be smashed outside your house to frighten away bad luck and spirits.

- Red underwear is worn on New Year’s Eve in the belief that it will bring luck, and even fertility, for the coming year. It is preferred that this be given as a gift rather than purchased yourself

- A celebratory dinner with relatives or friends is a popular tradition with many customs attached to it. Served with lentils, a cotechino or a zampone is a favourable dish made with pigs’ trotters, thought to symbolise abundance and a richness of life due to its high fat content . The presence of lentils is particularly important as they are said to bring good luck and prosperity, due to their coin-like shape. When midnight arrives, lentil stew is consumed with one spoonful for each stroke of the bell, in the hope of good fortune for the year ahead. A dinner should be completed with the consumption of grapes to ensure that you are wise and frugal with your new-found wealth, as only someone with good willpower and patience could save the grapes from the harvest until the new year.

- It is not unusual for the celebrations to last through the night until dawn, as this is a way of welcoming the arrival of the new year with the viewing of the first sunrise

Ruins of the Roman aqueduct by VinL

Parco degli Acquedotti | (Where is this?)

availble (holy) light by ralph

St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Peter's Basilica | (Where is this?)

Italy - Rome by Max Perrini

Piazza del Campidoglio, Capitoline Hill | (Where is this?)

__6_00033 by http://ablozhnyybogdan.tumblr.com

The Colosseum | (Where is this?)

Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II by Chris Yunker

Altare della Patria | (Where is this?)

drop of time by ralph

The Pantheon | (Where is this?)

Sant'Angelo Bridge by Scott Sherrill-Mix

Ponte Sant'Angelo | (Where is this?)

Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome by Gary Ullah

Altare della Patria | (Where is this?)

A Crowd Gather by Christopher Tortolano

Piazza del Popolo | (Where is this?)

ROME... by sergio

Porticus Octaviae | (Where is this?)

Rome, Italy by Jöshua Barnett

Fontana della Barcaccia, Spanish Steps | (Where is this?)

Upward by Lee Crosbie

Palazzo Sciarra Colonna di Carbognano | (Where is this?)

Milky way over St. Peter basilica, Rome by Marc Brulard

St. Peter's Basilica, Via della Conciliazione | (Where is this?)

Guardian by Boris Bajcetic

Capitoline Wolf, Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini)| (Where is this?)

R O M E by sergio

Fountain of Neptune, Piazza Navona | (Where is this?)