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Summer holidays in Italy mean workplaces emptying for weeks on end, a flood of 'out of office' replies from colleagues and clients, and deserted cities. But why is the long break so ingrained in Italian society?
If you live in Italy, there’s a good chance you’ll be painfully familiar with the following scene: it’s early August and you head down to your favourite trattoria looking to treat yourself to a nice plate of bucatini pasta only to find shuttered windows, stacked patio chairs, and a sign hanging on the door saying ‘chiuso per ferie’ (‘closed for the holidays’).
What’s worse, you realise that the place is going to be shut for four consecutive weeks, meaning you’ll have to put off your craving for a culinary sfizio (‘treat’) until September.
The long August break is generally one of, if not the most baffling aspect of Italian life for foreign nationals in the country.
After all, Italy as a whole pretty much grinds to a halt in early August, with millions of Italians leaving for their holiday destinations at the same time and anything from private businesses and hospitality establishments to public offices and banks closing for two to four weeks (usually to the delight of anyone looking to get any sort of official paperwork done).
But why do Italians take such long summer holidays?
As it’s generally the case with most Italian habits and traditions, it’s hard to pinpoint a single factor behind the long August ferie (‘holidays’).
READ ALSO: Nine unmistakable signs that summer has arrived in Italy
Surely, history plays no small part in the custom as experts believe the lengthy break may trace all the way back to Roman times, and specifically to emperor Augustus, who first established a long period of rest for farm hands and labourers known as Augustali, to be celebrated right after the end of harvest season.
The long August break later survived the fall of the Roman empire as Christianity removed the more pagan aspects of the holiday, replacing them with liturgical observances and celebrations, including the Assumption of Mary, on August 15th.
Finally, in the first half of the 20th century, the Fascist regime further legitimised the custom, with dictator Benito Mussolini himself enshrining the August holidays as a much-deserved break from the hard work carried out in factories and fields.
But while the long history behind the August holidays surely goes a long way towards explaining why they are so entrenched in Italian society, there are other considerations to be made.
First of all, August is the hottest month of summer in Italy, with daytime temperatures hovering between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country and high levels of humidity.
This makes the August holidays something of a necessity for a whole range of occupations involving hard manual labour carried out outdoors.
READ ALSO: Why do Italians have such clean homes?
Secondly, it’s worth pointing out that Italian sindacati are among the most powerful trade unions in Europe, with most organisations gaining significant bargaining power in the aftermath of World War II (the Fascist regime had banned independent workers’ unions) and retaining it up to this day.
Under collective labour agreements in some public sectors, many offices can legally remain completely closed for as long as two or even three consecutive weeks.
This means that an employee couldn’t actually work during that period of time even in the (unlikely) event that he wanted to.
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