Ferragosto (deriving from the Latin Feriae Augusti) is the national Italian holiday and occurs on August 15th. There are various stories explaining its origin. One myth explains that the holiday is tied into the Consualia (in honor of the god Consus) celebrating the closing of the more strenuous part of the harvest period giving much-needed rest to the workers and animals. In fact, horses, mules, and donkeys were paraded around in flowers. Roman Catholics view this holiday as the Assumption Day on which the Virgin Mary was accepted into heaven. The traditions around this holiday have been maintained differently according to the Italian regions. In Siena for example, the extravagant festival known as the Palio di Siena is held on July 2nd and August 16th in which there is a horse race around the Piazza del Campo. Today Ferragosto is a holiday in which Italians take the day off. Throughout the entire month, however, many businesses are closed. Italians take this period to flee to whichever vacation spot they see fit! The shores, camp sites, mountains, rivers, lakes, and resorts are full. It's a time for no work and all play! Buon Ferragosto!
My husband was born on Assumption Day and therefore his name is Mario (masculine version of Maria).
ReplyDeleteReally? Very nice...yes this is definitely still a prominent day in Italy. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGina
I must ask, where does the the idea that Ferragosto has begun between the 23rd and 18th centuries B.C. when Rome itself was created in 753 BC and there was no written history before that, and certainly there was no "Augustus" between the 23rd and 18th centuries B.C.
ReplyDeleteCan the writer of this blog share some light on where he got the information. Thank you!
Hello Alex, thanks for the comment. There was a bit of typo...it's not the 23rd and 18th "centuries" B.C., but instead simply 18 B.C. The holiday appears to date back to 18 B.C. declared by the Emperor Augustus (or Ottaviano Augusto). As far as written history, remember that the years B.C. run backwards, so if Rome was created in 753 B.C., 18 B.C. was 735 years later.
ReplyDeleteRome was created in the 8th century before Christ.
ReplyDeleteThe 18th century before Christ is 10 centuries before the creation of Rome. Mathematically it is as simple as that. Will you agree to that? And by the way Emperor Augustus was First Roman Emperor and lived between 63 B.C. - 14 C.E., born roughly 700 years after the founding of Rome and certainly not in the 18th century before Christ. Can you follow all of this? I am just trying to clarify this issue. Thank you!
Alex
Ciao Alex, you're testing my history knowledge for sure! When researching the origins of Ferragosto, I got several different answers, which is why I'm not in the position to confirm anything regarding dates. What I wrote in the blog is mainly what I found through research, but again, I can't confirm. The point that I wanted to get across in the blog is that Ferragosto dates to the days of the Roman Empire and has managed to stay prominent to date as also Assumption Day.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Gina