The Assumption Day, the Italian national holiday celebrated on August 15, is held all around in Italy when businesses and shopsare closed. Most museums and tourist sites are open on August 15. Many Italians spend the day at the beach for Ferragosto and the coast are usually very crowded while the cities may be fairly empty.
The holiday was first proclaimed by the Emperor Augustus in 18 BC so that everyone could relax after the hard work of the harvest. The festival was first a month event to an event celebrated in the second half of August and later became a one-day celebration.
Later on, Christians started to celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on 15th August and so we have the ferragosto of today.
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