FERRAGOSTO, A CELEBRATION THAT WAS BORN IN ROMAN TIMES 

The August Ferragosto holiday in Italy is traditionally celebrated with a big lunch on the beach. August is officially holiday season in Italy. While tourists pile into the cities like Venice and Rome, Italians are making a beeline for the sea. The summer beach holiday is sacred and many businesses across the country shutter for weeks. The break culminates on 15 August with Ferragosto (my birthday), a major national holiday. If you are travelling to Italy during the festivities, there are plenty of events to get involved in. But it is also worth knowing the places to avoid if want to escape the crowds.

What is Italy’s Ferragosto holiday?

The Ferragosto celebration on 15 August marks the height of summer in Italy. The festival originates from the Feriae Augusti, the festival of Emperor Augustus established in 18 BC. Under his rule, 1 August was declared a rest day for workers in the agricultural sector after the labour of the previous months. In around 5 AD, the Catholic Church felt the need to put a religious spin on the festivity and moved the date to 15 August, the celebration of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Until recently, almost all shops and industries in Italy shut down for the whole of August and there was a mass exodus to the sea. Now, businesses limit closures to around two weeks, but it remains one of Italy’s most important festivities.

How do Italians celebrate Ferragosto?

The most traditional way to celebrate Ferragosto is to escape to the beach. Many households decamp to the seaside for the whole of August and the 15th marks the climax of the holiday. It is customary to have a big barbeque or al fresco lunch on the beach with family and friends on the day of Ferragosto. This practice has its origins during Italy’s Fascist regime. In the 1920s, the government organised Ferragosto excursions to the beach. They set up special discounted rail journeys to the seaside so that even the working classes could afford a trip. However, since the organised excursions didn’t involve food, it became customary to bring a packed lunch. This has evolved into an extravagant meal often involving surprisingly heavy fare like pasta bakes and stuffed vegetables. In Rome, and in Lazio in general, to be the master on this festive day is a preparation to say the least succulent: the stewed chicken with peppers.

Ferragosto also brings along a light sense of melancholy with it, because it’s the last summer holiday Italians have, and they realize the fall is just around the corner. The morning of the 16th is a summer hungover, often permeated with a sense of exhaustion and, in many a way, a longing for the fall’s well-established routines; it’s time to start packing school bags and, perhaps, taking advantage of the beach in the early days of September, usually mild in climate, for one last dip in the sea.

As September draws closer, Italy’s festivals and celebrations will take a back seat to work and school. Although the festivities end, the promise of next year’s summertime merriment keeps everyone motivated for an even bigger and grander Ferragosto. But for now, enjoy the summer, and enjoy Ferragosto!

So a myriad of traditional dishes and recipes, to prepare at home or to taste in the many restaurants open also in August, which will accompany Italians on this day of celebration. Diets are postponed until September!