What kind of holidays do people in Italy celebrate?

Italy is a primarily Roman Catholic country. 98% of Italians continue to be baptized in the Roman Catholic Church. As such, most Italians celebrate the major Catholic holidays:

"HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS

The structure of the ecclesiastical year in Italy does not differ from that of other predominantly Catholic countries. The principal holidays are Christmas, preceded by the four Sundays of Advent, and Easter, preceded by the four Sundays of Lent. In Italy, in addition to the fixed holidays recognized throughout the Catholic world, there are so-called holy days of obligation, on which the faithful have the duty to participate in the Mass. For example, the Madonna is venerated on the feasts of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) and the Assumption (August 15), both considered holy day of obligation. There are also many other holy days, on which local (particularly patron) saints are remembered. Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of Italy, is honored on October 4, and each city and town has its own patron saint, whose day is generally celebrated by suspending work and closing schools. This is the case, for example, with Saint Ambrose in Milan (December 7), Saint Petronius in Bologna (October 4), Saint Anthony in Padua (June 13), Saint Gennaro in Naples (September 19), and Saint Agatha in Catania (February 5). There are local holidays for shrines dedicated to the Virgin." from Prandi, Carlo. "Italy" Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices. Ed. Thomas Riggs. Vol. 2. p527-533.

Also:

"Italian folklore-even in the poorer regions-often concerns food and feasts. The smallest town and the largest city, have a fair, or sagra, whose main feature is eating. For example, at the Sagra della Braciòla ( "fair of mutton chops" ) in Castel San Pietro, a village near Bologna, everybody who comes is given a free, delicious mutton chop that has been roasted over an open fire. At the Ham Fair of San Daniele del Friuli in northeastern Italy, thick slices of the almost-sweet local ham are distributed to whoever happens to be there. At Torre Annunziata, near Naples, there is a Festival of Spaghetti where huge portions of steaming spaghetti in tomato sauce are given away.

Hospitality, as well as sheer joyful eating, is at the core of almost all popular festivals in Italy. There is, for example, a Hospitality Fair celebrated each year at Bertinoro near Forlì in Central Italy. It commemorates the medieval tradition according to which a knight who chanced to pass through the town could tie his mount to a ring on the Column of Hospitality (which still stands in the middle of the piazza). On each ring there was a different coat of arms, so that one could choose his host and be assured of free and lavish hospitality in the palace or castle of the owner of the ring. The tradition has been renewed so that summer visitors can place their cards on the rings and be invited to a home for a dish of pasta and a glass of the good local wine.

Italy's wealth of traditions includes games and pageants that have been handed down unchanged from father to son over the centuries. One of the oldest of these is Florence's Calcio in Costume ( "costumed soccer" ), which has been played in the city since it was a Roman colony and is said to be the ancestor of football. The game was originally Greek and was adopted by the Romans, who, in turn, introduced it in Florence. Today, this spectacular football game is played annually with much of its antique glory revived.

One might say that the Italians-a people whose theatrical tradition goes back at least to the times of the Romans-use games as an excuse to put on a show. Partita a Scacchi- "chess game" -is played on the pink and white marble squares of the piazza in Marostica in the Veneto, which is a model of a chessboard. The game is played to commemorate a famous partita in which the stake was the daughter of the governor, Parisio. Parisio had forbidden his daughter's two suitors to joust in a tournament for her hand, as was customary then. Instead, he suggested the contest be resolved on a chessboard.

Probably the best-known of all these traditional festivals is the palio-a rather wild horse race-run on July 2 and August 16 each year on Siena's oval-shaped Piazza del Campo in the historical center of the town. In this show, music and color play an important role. The palio opens with a parade of standard-bearers from each contrada- "quarter" -of Siena juggling their banners, whirling and throwing them in the air, and catching them before they touch the ground.

Yet the tourist who comes only to see the horse race may miss the most curious and genuine part of this tradition, which is the ancient ritual that takes place before the race. On the morning of the palio, the church in each contrada is decked with flags, banners, and insignia won from rival contrade over the years. At 11 o'clock a special Mass is celebrated in the church, which is attended by all the citizens of the contrada, and most important, by the horse that represents the contrada. During the rite, the silence and concentration are great, but have nothing to do with devotion. Instead, everyone is anxiously watching the behavior of the horse to see whether or not the omens will be favorable and foretell the horse's victory. In fact, the race is as good as won if the horse's droppings fall in the church. No one would dream of calling this act a sacrilege, let alone of suspecting the priest, himself an ardent supporter of the colors of his contrada, of slowing down the service in order to help the horse give a favorable omen." from Delzell, Charles F. "Italy." Lands and Peoples. 2008. Grolier Online. 10 Jan. 2008

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