ferragosto

Sun-washed walls in Tuscania, Lazio (right over the border of Tuscany)

Buon ferragosto! Today is August 15th, otherwise known as ferragosto in Italy, a holiday that dates back to 18 BCE. In Latin, it was known as Feriae Augusti (Augustus' rest) and was meant to celebrate a long season of agricultural labor and the upcoming harvest. I just love living in a country that celebrates ancient Roman holidays...sigh...Nowadays, most Italians spend the 15th of August at the beach or eating a big meal with family and friends. Actually, the majority of August is spent doing this. Shops and restaurants close, all the chic Florentines head off to Forte dei Marmi or Punta Ala (we poor Florentines go to Livorno). In the past two weeks, our neighborhood has become a veritable desert, the exception of course being myself, Alberto and Winnie - the latter of which is always on vacation.

Winnie in paradise

We've already taken a vacation down to the Maremma - the southern most part of Tuscany - and we had a fabulous time. We visited a few Etruscan tombs, did some mountain biking, some swimming (with jellyfish), took a night-time dip in the thermal baths, ate some really tasty local grub and played a lot of chess. It was, in a word, un successo. 

The town of Pitigliano is constructed on a very porous rock called tufo - see how it seems to be growing right out of the mountain? Pretty sweet, huh? It was once an Etruscan settlement and parts of the ancient walls are still standing.

So it seems that we'll be spending ferragosto at home, reading, painting, watching Mel Brooks movies, eating homemade popsicles and on Friday performing the Decameron in the mountains outside Pistoia...actually, that sounds like a pretty good vacation to me!

I is for Ice-cream, from the Alpa-baby series, watercolor on paper, 2013