Traditions

Growing up in the suburbs of New York City among a big Italian-American community, Professor Vincent J. Cannato has respect for his Italian origins. “My grandfather was born in Sicily and grew up in Calabria and came to America when …

Growing up in the States, I had heard two things about the origins of Halloween: 1) that it had originated as a Pagan festival and 2) that it was the secular version of the Catholic All Hallow’s Eve. I suppose …

Sure, Spring and Summer are the two most popular season with travelers that chose to spend time in Italy, but traveling during shoulder season can have some advantages too. Most fair and festivals, especially those geared towards a local crowd, …

The tiny island of Burano in the Venetian archipelago, with its colorfully painted houses and boats tied all along the canals “like so many domestic animals,” as Cassiodorus observed in A.D. 537, might be one of the most enchanting places …

People in Venice celebrate today the Festa della Salute, which is a moment to remember the bout of pestilence, started in 1630 and lasted for two years. At that point, the Doge decided to ask for the intercession of the …

Every Italian region has its harvest rituals that make quick and tasty use of the foods of the season. Umbria, lush land of endless vineyards and porky delights, makes salsicce all’uva, pan-roasted sausages and grapes, a dish that joins two …

While St. Martin’s day is November 11, in Tuscany everyone hopes for sunshine because the legend says that, after St Martin halved his cloak to keep warm the first shivering naked beggar he came across, God was so pleased that …

For outsiders, the Palio may just be an ancient horse race, but, to the Sienese, it is much more than that: the Palio is life, they say. Hopes, dreams, passions, fears, battles, scheming and community: just as these elements are …

Rome is a city famous for its fountains. The largest and most celebrated one is the Fountain of Trevi, so called because it is situated at the center of three converging streets (tre vie). Some say that the Trevi fountain …

2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Giovanni Meli, Sicily’s most celebrated poet, who died of pneumonia on December 20, 1815. Prof. Giovanni Ruffino, director of the Centro di Studi Filologici e Linguistici Siciliani, in collaboration with Sicily’s …