Christmas in Italy: Three Days of Feasting

Most families in Italy begin celebrating il Natale on the evening of December 24 (la vigilia di Natale) with a big dinner. Because Christmas Eve is a vigilia di magro (a day of abstinence on which the Catholic Church prohibits the consumption of meat), the centerpiece...

Christmas in Italy: The Feast of Santa Lucia

In the dark of December parts of Italy light up to celebrate a saint whose name derives from the Latin lux or lucis for light (luce in Italian). Lucia was a young girl who lived in Siracusa on the island of Sicily in the third century. According to various legends,...

Christmas in Italy: The Original Saint Nick

In some parts of Italy the feast of San Nicola, patron saint of Bari, ushers in the Christmas season with the giving of gifts on the eve or morning of December 6, his onomastico (name day). Although many stories of San Nicola’ s life may be mythical, he did inspire...

St. Martin’s Summer in Italy

Long ago on a cold and rainy November 11, a former Roman soldier named Martino came across a man stumbling and shivering on the road. Although he wanted to help, Martino had no money or blanket to offer. And so he took out his sword, slashed his cloak and gave half to...

Welcoming May in Italy

  One of my favorite months anywhere, May is especially beautiful in Italy. “Aprile con il fiore, maggio con il colore,” Italians say. April with its flower, May with its color. But May enchants the heart as well as the eye. As an old proverb goes,...