Traditions: Spring

Pasquetta is the Monday after Easter, also known as Monday of the Angel. It is a popular tradition for Italians to take the first picnic of the spring season on Pasquetta. This is especially true for town folks, who make the so called "gita fuori porta", a day trip outside the city gates.

Popular destinations for the Pasquetta outings are the countryside and coastal towns, such as the Cinqueterre and the lakes. As you can imagine an Italian picnic is no simple affair. Italians prepare quiches, especially artichoke and asparagus quiches which are in season, all kinds of salads, from potatoes to rice salads, cold cuts of meats like salame and prosciutto, and boiled eggs. For dessert a great option that travels well are the panettone muffins, which you can make following our recipe.

It is a fun tradition, however much of the day, especially the evening, is spent in the car in traffic. So, if you are planning your Pasquetta in Italy, try to pick a not so popular destination. Of course if you celebrate Pasquetta in the US, you shouldn't have any problem!

Infiorata The Feast of Corpus Christi (i.e., the Feast of the Body of Christ) is a Christian celebration in honor of the Holy Eucharist. The actual date is the first Thursday following Trinity Sunday, which is the first Sunday after Pentecost. (In 2006, Corpus Christi is on June 15th.) However, festivals and celebrations are usually held on the Sunday following the this date. Corpus Christi is celebrated in many towns throughout Italy with an Infiorata - elaborate floral decorations. The streets are carpeted with fresh, colorful and scented flowers that are arranged into images of religious figures or ornaments. The preparation for this festival requires many weeks of work, but the actual designs are assembled overnight.

In many instances, almost the entire town participates in the celebration – finding and gathering the flowers, selecting and cutting the flowers, and laying down the petals and creating the designs. The townspeople begin working on the designs on Saturday afternoon and work throughout the night to prepare for Sunday's festivities.

In the late morning on the day of the festival, the bishop holding the Monstrance -- a golden vessel in which the Holy Eucharist is displayed for all to see -- leads a procession throughout the town, walking over the floral arrangements. Later in the afternoon, a panel of judges awards prizes for the floral designs.

Although Corpus Christi is celebrated throughout Italy, the most popular Infiorata celebrations are in Spello, Bolsena, Genzano and Diano Marina.

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