Today we celebrate in Italy a holiday which had its origin in the time of Augustus, first Emperor of Rome, a fertility feast which was part of the political program of Augustus to augment the population of Rome. Christians then took this most popular feast and gave it a make over, fertility turns to Virgin Mary, who is the Christian Venus or Minerva or both.
Ferie (Feast) of August, FerrAgosto, the Feast of the Virgin Mary ascending into Heaven upon her death. In Napoleonic times, the 15 August was Saint Napoleon I.
The French invaded Italy in the pursuit of Revolutionary ideals to abolish the superstitions of the Roman Catholic Church and most religious holidays were modified to fit a more modern agenda, as the saying went, War conquers Peace. In keeping with the general idea of the prestige of France, Napoleon wanted to do away with the influence of the Pope over life in Catholic Europe, Napoleon had Pope Pius VII arrested and carted off to Paris, to live under house arrest. He was a modernizer, his era was one of confrontation of the old order of the Princes in all Europe against that of the will of the people under the direction of one man.
Napoleon was all too aware of his humble origins, so he married his sister Pauline into the Borghese family, who is remembered for her naked pose immortalized in marble reclining as a Roman empress. The Borghese an ancient and powerful family, with at the time one of the most prestigious art collection in Europe, was for the Bonaparte family a prize catch.
His son l’Aiglon was created at birth King of Rome and the Bonaparte family palace is on Piazza Venezia in Rome between the Palace of Prince Doria Pamphilij and Prince Colona, good company all around.
Upon Napoleon’s exile to Elba and then St-Helen, the popes were quick to do away with all modern things and bring back the holiday to the original idea, but the deed was done and Italians had other ideas and despite the Popes repression and persecution of the general population, the holiday had taken on a different meaning. By 1860 unified Italy turned the holiday progressively to one of vacation and leisure for the whole family. August becoming a month of vacation, everything is closed and everyone goes to the beach, the countryside, the mountains, even if you live in the countryside you go on vacation somewhere with the family. No one in business would think of being open during FerrAgosto. Thus we find ourselves in Pesaro on the beach. Though this year because of the financial crisis in Italy, the beach is quiet, restaurants are not so busy, but the sun is shining and we are enjoying a large glass of Proseco.
Buon FerrAgosto a Tutti!
No comments:
Post a Comment