August Snow in Rome

By Patricia Winton

It rarely snows in Rome, even in the depths of winter, but it snowed in Rome this past Monday, August 5. The temperatures have been hovering around 36 C (upper 90s F). But on Monday, snow fell outside the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, also known as the Madonna of the Snow. The snow was artificial, of course. People stood outside the basilica in summer clothing awaiting the cool flakes to fall.

The annual event reenacts the Miracle of the Madonna of the Snow dating from the 350s when Pope Liberius dreamed that the Virgin Mary told him to build a church where snow fell. On the scorching night between August 4 and 5, according to the legend, snow fell on the Esquiline Hill. The basilica, one of the five in Rome belonging to the Vatican) was completed in 440.

Another version of the legend holds that a wealthy couple without heirs prayed to the Virgin for guidance on how to dispose of their property. Snow fell on that August 4-5 night, and the Virgin appeared to them in a vision, telling them to build a church where the snow had fallen. According to this legend, they built the basilica. We know them only as “a patrician named John and his wife.”

The Catholic church took no notice to either legend for about 1000 years. The celebration of the feast has had a varied history, celebrated first in Rome only, then in other churches around the world. Today, it’s celebrated as the Dedication of the Basilica.

On August 5, during the celebration of two masses at Santa Maria Maggiore—in the morning and at vespers—white petals float from the dome onto the congregation. Originally these petals were from roses; today, they’re from dahlias. Beginning at 9 PM, a light show illuminates the exterior of the basilica. The festivities continue to midnight. Midway through the show, artificial snow falls on the crowd.

Last year, the truck delivering the snow equipment broke down en route and the event was postponed to Ferragosto (August 15—one of Italy’s premier holidays). Just thinking about the snow can cool you down on a sweltering August night.

Celebrating the Harvest

By Patricia Winton

Yesterday, August 15, was Ferragosto, one of Italy’s favorite holidays. A day when people splash at the beach or seek the cool of the mountains. When they barbecue steak and sausage or lick cool cones of gelato.

A Harvest Festival by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema.

Some say the holiday dates back almost 3000 years to the legends of Romulus and the founding of Rome. The ancient Romans certainly celebrated an August festival called Consuali, dedicated to Conso, the god of the harvest. According to legend, Romulus invited the neighboring Sabines to the feast, and the Romans kidnapped the Sabine daughters to be their wives, an event known a The Rape of the Sabine Women (rapito in modern Italian means kidnap).

Whether you accept the legend or not, fact is that the Emperor Augustus instituted a similar festival, called Feriae Augusti, in 18 BC. During the month-long festivities, celebrations honored various gods associated with the season, including Conso (harvest), Opi (fertility), Vortumnus (seasons), and especially Diana (woods, wild animals, maternity, and childbirth).

It was a time to rest and play after the arduous growing season, and the homage to Diana may indicate hope for fruitful pregnancies as well. Roman women certainly prayed to Diana throughout the year in hopes of safe and painless childbirth. The festival to Diana during the Feriae Augusti were the only time during Roman period when all people could mingle, masters and slaves, patricians and plebeians alike.

Over time, the August holiday was gradually subsumed into the Christian story. On today’s Catholic calendar, August 15 marks the Assumption, the day that Mary was assumed into heaven. Vestiges of the ancient month-long festivities continue, too. Many Italians take the month off for vacation. During the first couple of days of the month, people asked me where I would be going for my holiday--this despite the fact that I had been away during both June and July.

Ferragosto traditions vary throughout the country and have changed over time. At one point, for example, Rome’s Piazza Navona was flooded and boat races were held. One event, calvacata dell’assunta (Palio of Siena), dates from the 16th century. Held on August 16, this horse race around the town’s shell-shaped central piazza features medieval costumes and music. Horse racing was apparently part of the ancient Consuali games, so this link has carried forward.

Purification by water and by fire constituted major parts of the Feriae Augusti rituals, and both elements continue today when a majority of Italians go to the sea or to a lake and end the day’s festivities with fireworks.

In some ways, the holiday reminds me of America’s Thanksgiving: it’s one of Italy's biggest travel days, people enjoy elaborate feasts (often picnics), and families gather to celebrate together.

Italy Is Closed for August

         
I noticed the change on Saturday, a full forty-eight hours before it began. As I went on my morning walk with a prescription in my hand, each of the half dozen pharmacies I passed displayed a “closed” sign. On Monday, two vacant parking places waited directly in front of my building’s front door. Another one invited a car to enter just two spaces down. Usually people circle for some time before they find a spot.

And then I remembered; it was August 1; Italy had closed for the month.

Americans find it difficult to understand that businesses close their doors for vacation. But here, most people prefer to spend their free time in the summer when the weather is warm. Some businesses  require their employees to take the time off even if they would prefer another time. So in August, most people flee to the beaches or the mountains, both abundant in Italy, or even to some exotic location like the Red Sea or the Seychelles or Las Vegas.

Over the weekend, and even Monday morning, I noticed police cars parked all along the Tuscolana, the major thoroughfare near my home. They were keeping traffic moving, sending double parkers scurrying to get out of the way of the hoards of cars on their ways out of town.

It’s like that everywhere. At the local market, where there are approximately sixty stalls, about two-thirds have closed, many for the entire month. Those that aren’t taking all of August are taking time to include August 15—ferragosto, arguably Italy’s favorite holiday.

People begin saying Buone Vacanze by the end of May to make sure that they wish you well before you depart. You have about a month of small talk because people talk about where they’re going beforehand and what they did afterwards.

The pharmacies have posted notices for all the stores in the area. Their closures are timed to make sure that some are always open. The shoe shop, the jewelry store, the computer repair shop, even the realtor. All have signs up warning you not to expect to find them there during le vacanze.

My friendly neighborhood drycleaner (pictured below) has had her sign up for a couple of weeks. She’s closing shop on Friday. But now, she’s working overtime and has enlisted the help of her daughter to make sure all her customers have their clothes ready for vacation.

And I must admit that I’m getting into the spirit by squeezing in a two-week visit to the U.S. between ferragosto and Labor Day. I’m going to do some book signings, meet with other mystery writers, visit my mother, attend a mystery writers conference, and spend a couple of days in the mountains. When I get back, I’ll need a vacation.