FEASTS, FESTIVALS & HOLIDAYS

August

August 15th - National Holiday
Ferragosto - Assumption Day - This is the day that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken up and assumed into heaven and it virtually shuts down Italy. For example, Milan loses from 65% to 75% of its permanent residents to the beaches and mountains despite recent advertising campaigns that tiredly recite the catchphrase 'Milan remains open'. Most of Italy's geographical interior is already dysfunctional because August is considered 'vacation month' from the first day of August. Take heed that not only during, but also slightly before and after this holiday everything in Italy shuts down including most tourist attractions, supermarkets, restaurants, stores, banks, public services and offices, businesses, and most newsstands and bars. And as Italy implodes on itself, its industrial output, productivity, GDP, stock market and status as an open-all-year international trade partner all grind to a halt as the gears of 'socialistic entitlement legislation' collide with those of a modern global economy. Also, if this holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the Monday or Friday in-between is treated as a ponte (bridge) holiday and retail stores and public services remain shuttered. Most Italians that live in apartment buildings tip their portanaio (combination superintendent and doorman) so he'll keep a special eye on their vacant apartment while they're away. Travelers take note: Many Italian sites and services shut down for the entire month of August! Check specifically before you come to make sure that the sights you want to visit will be open! If your destination is a beach or mountain area, make sure you have a confirmed reservation as there will not be a single vacancy available for any number of tears.

Umbrian Festival of Sacred Music (21st August - 16th September)
Perugia
First established in 1937, it is one of the most important and prestigious Umbrian cultural events. In addition to the principal regional town it also involves some other localities. Merit has been given to the festival for promoting, on the one hand, knowledge of sacred music in Italy and, on the other, twentieth century music. First works and new musical interpretations are presented here. Among the guests are some very famous names: orchestra conductors like Karajan, Mitropoulos, Muti; contemporary composers such as Britten, Hindemith, Penderecki, Stockhausen.

Chamber Music Festival of the Nations (19th August - 3rd September)
Citta di Castello
Established in 1968, the Festival of the Nations is one of the most important musical events in Italy. Now in its 33rd year, the Festival features a guest nation each year, which presents internationally prestigious musical groups through a rigorous selection of the highest artistic quality, in a musicological search that gives precedence to rare performances and first works, remaining alert to contemporary music so as to favor its production and publication with the awareness of its importance as an artistic expression of our time. While keeping music as its core, the Festival is moving in other artistic directions as well, with a variety of events including dance, theatre, and the visual arts, for best representing the personality of the guest nation.