Why Italians Take Ferragosto Seriously

 

You can see something queer, when you are ever in Italy in mid-August, cities which in other times are busy quiet down. Stores are shut, plants are vacated and even the buzzing of the tourists reduces. It is Ferragosto, and to Italians it is not a holiday, but almost consecrated.

 

Its origin dates back in ancient Rome, when Emperor Augustus used to declare a day of rest following the lengthy period of harvest. It became a summer festivity that incorporates history and religion over the centuries as well as a mere relaxation of pace. August 15 th, Ferragosto, is today, it is the heart of the Italian summer because they are throwing away and going to the coast or the mountains or even to the center of their hometowns to have lunch together, laugh, and enjoy the sunshine.

                          

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I recall my earliest Ferragosto very well. In one of the places I was lodging close to the Amalfi Coast the air was thick with heat and with sea fragrance.

 

By mid-day families were settled on the beaches the umbrellas and coolers up, the plates of pasta salad and the slices of melon were being passed around.

 


The strangers gave me cold beverages and some one began to sing an old tune which half the crowd apparently knew by heart. No hurry, no time, no schedule only the communal time of men and women happy to be exactly where they were.

 

The best part of Ferragosto is that it is representative of the Italian philosophy of work and rest, where it does not matter how hard one works, but rather how one knows when to take a break. It is a wake-up call that life is not to be lived in a rut, and time to relax and enjoy spending time together is equally vital to success as ambition.

 

When the sun was setting behind the cliffs in the evening fireworks burst in the sky and were reflected in the still sea before. The laughing continued long after midnight.

 

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