L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano Augusti became associated with a Christian feast, much as it happened for Christmas; since the 7 th century AD, Catholics across the globe c e l e b r a t e , o n t h e 1 5 t h o f August, the day of Mary's Assumption to Heaven, that is, her entering Paradise with both her soul and body, just like her Son did. Across Italy, celebrations of this festivity often include fairs and tradi- tional holy processions that o f t e n i n v o l v e l o c a l b r a s s bands and confraternities. Some may find curious that the Palio di Siena, which also takes places in August, o n t h e 1 6 t h , a n d o t h e r famous horse races like the P a l i o d e l l ' A r g e n t a r i o i n Porto Santo Stefano, or the G i o s t r a d e l S a r a c i n o i n Sarteano, were all originally conceived to keep alive the Roman games of the Feriae Augusti, creating an ideal line between Ancient Rome and modern Italy through, of course, the important influ- ence of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, when these races – the Palio di Siena in p a r t i c u l a r – b e g a n b e i n g linked with the festivity of the Assumption. D u r i n g t h e V e n t e n n i o , I t a l y ' s t i m e u n d e r t h e Fascists, propaganda invited Italians to enjoy a day out w i t h t h e f a m i l y o n F e r r a g o s t o , j u s t l i k e t h e Romans would have done 2 0 0 0 y e a r s e a r l i e r : j u s t another way to create a con- nection between Fascism and t h e E m p i r e , s o m e t h i n g Mussolini was quite keen on doing. The idea was to create a state-supported holiday, Let's stay in the kitchen because, as it happens for all i m p o r t a n t f e s t i v i t i e s , Ferragosto has a special menu, too. In the past, it was customary to prepare roasted pigeon with rice, sausages a n d p o r c i n i m u s h r o o m s , especially in the North and in Tuscany; in Rome, you'd find chicken and peppers, while margheritine di Stresa were typical in Piemonte, as their name suggests (Stresa is a beautiful locality on the Lake M a g g i o r e ) . T h e s e l i t t l e , f l o w e r - s h a p e d c o o k i e s d e s e r v e s o m e a t t e n t i o n because of their history and curious recipe: they were cre- ated in 1857 by pastry chef Pietro Antonio Bolongaro, in o c c a s i o n o f t h e f i r s t h o l y c o m m u n i o n o f P r i n c e s s Margherita of Savoia, and what makes them special is the use of boiled egg yolks – along with sugar, butter and vanilla – for their prepara- tion. Legends say the Savoias l o v e d t h e m s o m u c h t h e y became a staple on their table for Ferragosto celebrations. T h e 1 5 t h o f A u g u s t i n Naples traditionally means frittata di maccheroni, a delicious frittata made with long pasta, eggs, cheese and served, of course, in slices; in Apulia, Ferragosto is orec- chiette con cime di rapa, one of Italian cuisine's most pop- ular dishes, while Calabria is all about pasta chijna, typi- cally prepared for important festivities, the most famous version of which includes ragù and meatballs. Sunny Sicily keeps cool with gelo di melone, a delicious dessert made with watermelon (yes, we call it anguria in Italian, but in Sicily it's also known as melone), cinnamon and much like the one Augustus had envisaged 2000 years earlier: workers' associations – they were called associ- azioni dopolavoristiche – would organize hundreds of day trips for workers and their families all over the country and Mussolini, to support even further the ini- tiative, introduced special trains, the treni popolari di Ferragosto, with reduced f a r e s . T h i s e n a b l e d e v e n l o w e r i n c o m e f a m i l i e s t o travel and enjoy a day by the sea, in the mountains or visit- ing one of our many art cities. T h e t r e n i p o p o l a r i d i Ferragosto offer would run from the 13 th to the 15 th of the month and came in two versions: a one-day pass, for daily trips within a 50-100 km distance (31 to 62 miles), a n d a t h r e e - d a y p a s s , f o r trips between 100 and 200 k m ( 6 2 t o 9 3 m i l e s ) . T h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f Ferragosto and the reduced- fare trains offered by the regime marked an important m o m e n t i n t h e h i s t o r y o f Italian habits and contempo- rary traditions because, for the first time, many families were able to travel recre- ationally. As the offer covered only train fares, people would bring along packed meals w i t h t h e m , m a r k i n g t h e beginning of another popular tradition, that of the pranzo a l s a c c o ( p a c k e d l u n c h ) . Italians being Italians, pran- zo al sacco could include anything from sandwiches to savory pies, salads, pizzas and focaccias. In the 1950s, another important tradition of Ferragosto began, the bar- becue: still today, grilling remains one of Italy's favorite things to do on the 15 th of August. jasmine. Ferragosto is the climax of s u m m e r , a d a y w e l i k e t o spend with friends and fami- ly, often having a barbeque together. It falls during the weeks when most factories close for the holidays and the majority of Italians drive to seaside locations for their canonical sea-and-sand vaca- tion. For this reason, travel- ing around the period can be an adventure: it is usually advised to avoid the freeway o n t h e d a y s i m m e d i a t e l y before and after the 15 th and today many avoid traveling around Ferragosto altogeth- er, in spite of tradition, pre- ferring a dinner with friends or the always popular back garden barbecue. But as I said in the open- i n g l i n e s o f t h i s a r t i c l e , Ferragosto also brings along a light sense of melancholy with it, because it's the last summer holiday we have, and we realize the fall is just a r o u n d t h e c o r n e r . T h e m o r n i n g o f t h e 1 6 t h i s a summer hungover, often per- m e a t e d w i t h a s e n s e o f exhaustion and, in many a way, a longing for the fall's well-established routines; it's time to start packing school bags and, perhaps, taking advantage of the beach in the early days of September, usu- ally mild in climate, for one last dip in the sea. Alas, after Ferragosto, the summer is over, the fall is ready to take its place, but there's nothing wrong with it: it just means preparations for Halloween and Thanksgiving can begin soon. The most famous Emperor of all, Augustus, the father of our Ferragosto (Photo: Vladimir Mucibabic/Dreamstime) Continued from page 20 Playing in the sea to cool down on a hot Ferragosto day (Photo: Dreamstime) LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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