What is Ferragosto?

Recently, we returned to Florence after a trip.  We arrived in the afternoon and were surprised by what we saw.  Instead of a crowded train station and streets thronging with cars, scooters and people, we found a Florence that was sleeping.  There were people, mostly foreign tourists, walking here and there, but not the typical great volume of people.  The usually-crowded bus to our neighborhood was nearly empty.  In our neighborhood, almost every shop is shuttered until September. 

What was going on?

Then, Susan remembered Ferragosto, which loosely translates to August holidays.  Ferraagosto (pronounced fair-a-ghost-o) is the time in late Summer when Italians escape the heat of Florence to enjoy the seaside  Instead of baking in Florence, Florentines bake on beaches on the Italy's western coast along the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Here in Florence, the city is like a ghost town with empty streets and closed shops. 

A normally busy street in Florence, empty during mid-August

Via Laura, our street, deserted during Ferragosto

Ferragosto is not new.  It is a long-standing tradition.  One reason is that many Italians, like other Europeans, have long enjoyed many days of paid vacation.  Italians have 30 paid vacation days and holidays (U.S. workers average half that and some U.S. workers have no paid time off).  With so much time off, many Italians opt for long vacations with family.

Vacationing in August is a good idea.  The weather in Florence, Rome and other Italian cities is unpleasant.  In Florence during August, the average high temperature has been 95°F, with the temperature reaching 106°F one day.  Geography contributes to the unpleasant weather in Florence. The town is located in a valley surrounded by hills that form a bowl.  So, heat descends on Florence and is trapped by the hills which block any wind. 

Air conditioning might be the answer but electricity is very expensive.  So, many Florentines do not have air conditioners or do not use them often. 

Rather than broiling in Florence, Florentines get out of town--to the beach, to the lakes in the north, to ancestral homes in the hills or to islands such as Elba and Sardinia.

When did Ferragosto start?  That's hard to say.  Ferragosto can be traced to the late 1920's when the Fascist government advocated mid-August vacations for the working class.  Train travel was subsidized to encourage workers to take short vacations at the seaside or in the hills, like wealthy Italians were already doing.

Ferragosto can also be traced to the Feast of the Assumption on August 15.  The centuries-old church holiday and feast allowed Italians time off from work during one of the hottest months of the year.

Ferragosto can, however, be traced even further back in time.  One version of ancient history tells us that Ferragosto was a Roman holiday decreed by, you guessed it, Emperor Caesar Augustus in 18 B.C.  The holiday was the feriae augusti, or the festival of Emperor August, when laborers enjoyed a brief respite after the harvest. 

Statue of Caesar Augustus:  "Friends, Romans, countrymen, head to the hills!"

We have honored the ancient tradition of Ferragosto.  On a recent day, we enjoyed a long drive with friends in the cool hills near Florence followed by a long dinner al fresco at a county inn.  By the end of the evening, sweaters were a must.  (More about the wonderful dinner in a future blog post.)

We hope your Ferragosto has been pleasant and cool. 

P.S.  Our Florence apartment has air conditioning that works extremely well.  Thank heavens.  We are dreading the electricity bill.