SEPTEMBER ITALIAN FESTIVALS
By Matthew V. Grieco
Many local Italian festivals are celebrated in September.
Most famous is the Feast of San Gennaro (St. Januarius), the patron saint of Naples. San Gennaro was the Bishop of Beneventum when he was arrested and condemned to death during the anti-Christian persecution of the Emperor Diocletian in about 305 A.D. The saint was first exposed to wild beasts in the amphitheater, but the animals would not attack, and lied down at his feet. An outraged (and embarrassed) magistrate then had him beheaded. Every feast day, a phial of the saint’s dried blood is brought forth and, during the prayers of the congregation, the blood liquefies. The feast day itself is September 19th, although the celebrations span several days. Since 1926, the festival has been a beloved New York tradition as well, and is celebrated in numerous other cities.
Venice has the Regata Storica (Historical Regatta), a boat race on the Grand Canal, held on the first Sunday of September. Preceded by a magnificent procession of elaborately carved boats bearing people costumed in traditional dress, the event consists of a series of competitions, involving different types of boats, most notably the characteristic gondola, and various categories of contestants. The unique design and rowing style of the gondola were adaptations to lagoon navigation. A seabed of varying depths and winding canals required a flat-bottomed and rudderless narrow boat with one long oar that could be pushed down to a shallow sea floor or quickly maneuvered; standing while rowing afforded the oarsman maximum visibility.
September 7th sees Florence’s Festa della Rificolona (Festival of Paper Lanterns), a song-filled evening featuring a parade of multi-colored paper lanterns tied to sticks. According to one tradition, the event commemorates a Florentine victory over Siena, when the victorious troops returned with lanterns tied to pikes. Others believe that the lanterns imitate lights carried by farmers on the way to the city’s markets.
Verona marks September 16th as the birthday of Juliet, whose house continues to draw romantics. Shakespeare experts will insist that Romeo and Juliet establishes her birthday as July 31st. However, the Bard’s play was based on a novella, Romeo e Giulietta, written 60 years earlier by Luigi da Porto.
All of Italy shares the Vendemmia (grape harvest) in September -- a good excuse to sample some regional wines!