Traditions

The “Fucacoste and cocce priatorje” literally means “Bonfire and heads of purgatory”: between November 1 and 2, Orsara di Puglia, a small town in Southern Italy, hosts the bonfire night, considered the longest and brightest of the entire year. In …

Italy celebrates its grandfathers and grandmothers annually on October 2. This holiday was introduced by the government of Italy in 2005.   As Grandparents’ Day is an American tradition, the first official celebration took place in 1978, but, it didn’t …

The Festa di Ognissanti, the All Saints Feast, is a religious celebration happening November 1st. This feast celebrates all the saints of the Catholic calendar.   The origins of this feast dates back to the past, indeed first records of …

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 …

There is no other place in Italy that can be considered, for its traditions and connection to its past, more unique than Ripe. First thing you see when approaching the little town in Le Marche region, just a few miles …

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 …

Columbus Day, annually set on the second Monday of October, remembers Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas on October 12, 1492. The day was honored for hundreds of years, but did not become a federal holiday until 1937 when President Franklin …

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 …

The end of summer can be sort of bittersweet and the arrival of the cooler months may not always be welcome. Yet, fall has a lot to offer, especially when traveling through Italy: October and November are two months filled …

Inside Italy’s borders are two independent states.  One of them, you’re sure to know: Vatican City is the smallest internationally-recognized state in the world, measured by both area and population.  The other, though, is perhaps less known, even though tourism …