EVERY winter, town squares all over Europe are filled by the hum of Christmas choirs. Towns in northern Italy follow this tradition too, but with a twist. Singers abandon Santa costumes in favour of the distinctive feathered hats of the Alpini, tough soldiers mostly recruited from remote Alpine villages.

EVERY winter, town squares all over Europe are filled by the hum of Christmas choirs. Towns in northern Italy follow this tradition too, but with a twist. Singers abandon Santa costumes in favour of the distinctive feathered hats of the Alpini, tough soldiers mostly recruited from remote Alpine villages.