15 August, Ferragosto (August bank holiday): the day dedicated par excellence to out-of-town trips and barbecues, with family or friends. But what is celebrated on this day?
The origins of this feast date back to ancient Rome, when the Emperor Augustus, in order to celebrate the end of agricultural work, decided to add it to the festivities already taking place in the same month to ensure an adequate period of rest following the great exertions of the previous weeks. It is from him, in fact, that it derives its name: Feriae Augusti (Augustus’ rest).
The feast originally fell on 1 August, but was moved by the Catholic Church, which wanted to make the secular holiday coincide with the religious feast of the Assumption of Mary.
“What are your plans for Ferragosto?” you may have been asked up until the day before. Have you ever wondered where this fashion of having to do something on Ferragosto comes from?
Apparently, it all started during the twenty-year fascist period, when the regime began to organise hundreds of popular outings, even going so far as to set up ‘Ferragosto trains’, to allow even the less well-off social classes to visit cities of art or to go to seaside and mountain resorts. Since, however, food was not included, the tradition of the packed lunch was also born.
We can say that this initiative was a real success, so much so that even today the ‘One Day Outing’, as they used to call it, continues to be an occasion for get-togethers and carefree days in our country.
