Buona Ferragosta

The 15th August is Ferragosta in Italy. It is a festival day that began as a celebration of the end of the agricultural cycle but for a long time has been associated with the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For most Italians it marks the beginning of the annual holidays when most businesses close for 2 to 4 weeks and everyone heads to the sea or the mountains. It is an eerie sight to see quiet streets and most shops closed with a sign stating Chiuso per Ferie.

On the eve of Ferragosta a long part of the Tiber riverbank was turned into one giant restaurant with live music and some market stalls.

This morning we joined a large crowd for the second Mass of the day at our local parish Santa Maria in Trastevere, a joyous celebration with music, incense and bells. Lovely!

From there we visited several of the most popular locations such as Piazza Navona and enjoyed the quiet surrounds. Being a special day in the Church year all the churches were open so we visited all that we passed. In doing so we saw many old and important artworks including a Raphael frescoe and an oil by Caravaggio.

Mid afternoon we got on the first bus that came along and rode to the end of the line, which happened to be an almost country town called Andersen. At the end of the run the driver asked where we wanted to go and we explained that we were just riding for fun. The following twenty minutes was an interesting mix of his English and our Laurel and Hardy act Italian. He drives buses for 60 hours a week and yearns for a better life away from Rome, or even Italy.

The appropriate greeting today is Buona Ferragosta!