Ferragosto, a very old Holiday?

The middle of August is here, and the Italians have made their way on their annual extended vacations. Unemployment (which they call "Underemployment" to make it sound better) is up to 30% for young people, and Italians are celebrating at restaurants 20% less than in years past. On the flip side, the Italian vinters are forecasting an excellent wine season, a silver lining amidst general worry. Another positive? Visitors to museums during Ferragosto (see below) is up 14.3%. August is the month of "the red sun," when the meteorological forecasts are typically 30 degrees centigrade (in the 90s) and most shops are closed for the holidays. Generally speaking, it's a bad idea to go to Rome or Naples in August. Go visit a resort the north (Lake Como, anyone?) where it is less hot and you'll find all the services you want.

August 15 is the official date of the holiday Ferragosto, which you will read in every online story about the holiday goes back all the way to 18 BC, when the emperor Augustus declared a period of relaxation from the 15th of August up to the Vinalia (festival of the wine harvest) and the Consualia (festival of the grain harvest and storage) on the 19th and 21st respectively. I can in fact find no evidence for such a  holiday (the word for it, feriae, never occurs in the ancient calendars on August 15, though there are feriae on other dates), and while Ferragosto is clearly derives from the phrase, it cannot be said to be a continuous "holiday" from ancient Rome. August 15th corresponds to the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and the name was probably created in the early Christian period as Christians co-opted aspects of pagan festivals into their own festivals. However that may be, enjoy your vacation! The Romans certainly used August as a period to get out of town. Any why not? With some 1 million souls living in a tight urban area, I would want to get out as well.

The mayor of Rome has concluded that the period of Ferragosto in Rome is a good time to eliminate all traffic from the archaeological center for a four day period. A protest by local merchants is still on for September.

Weekly Tidbits:

On Aug. 10 there was announced the discovery of a Roman shipwreck off the shores of Liguria. The ship is from the second century BC and will add to our knowledge of early Roman shipping. Pictures here. A good English article here.

Archaeologists have uncovered an amphitheater in Genzano (near Lanuvium) on the estate of an Antonine Villa south of Rome, one that could hold 1300 people (compared to, say, 45 thousand at the Colosseum. One of the leaders of the team (Deborah Chatr Aryamontri, professor at Montclair State) speculates that this was the private "mini-Colosseum" of Commodus, the gladiator-loving emperor (180–192 AD), son of Marcus Aurelius, one played by Joachim Phoenix in Gladiator. The evidence? The arena was decorated in polychromatic marbles from all over the Roman Empire, one that indicates great wealth on the part of the owner, and the always entertaining but not always accurate Life of Commodus Historia Augusta records that Commodus was wont to retreat to such a private amphitheater. Note that I said the archaeologists speculated on the association. However, some English speaking news organizations decided to embellish the story. See here. A more sober article in English here. By the way, if you have weeks to spare next summer, go to this website later this year to see if you can join the team digging at this site.