Italy’s National Day
Italians are used to being at home so a holiday is not necessarily a break from their normal routine, but today’s National Day, the Festa della Repubblica, celebrated this year for the 74th time, is nevertheless a day in which Italy finds itself perhaps more united than ever.
The Frecce Tricolore, an aeronautical display featuring fighter jets that today flew in formation over the center of Rome while emitting plumes of the three colors from the Italian flag, this last week travelled all over Italy, omitting not even one region. The display was dedicated to the themes of unity, solidarity and recovery and passed right over Italian city centers in a daring display that friends not from Rome had never seen.
Italian president Sergio Mattarella today made a low key visit to the Altar of Peace in Rome, just as he had on the day of the Liberation, April 25; from there he continued with a private visit to Codogno, in Lombardy, where Italy’s first coronavirus patient was diagnosed.
Life is returning to normal in that Italians I know are discussing their holidays. While one family is planning on exploring the beaches and islands of the North Sea of the Netherlands, everyone else is staying in Italy — and, incidentally, following the suggestion of Italian Prime Minister Conte who last month urged : “This year take your holidays in Italy, discover many of our unknown beauties”.
As of tomorrow, Italians have the right to unrestricted regional movement. Therefore if they make an early start, Roman friends can take in this view by mid morning…
… catch this first welcome panorama of Amalfi as they arrive and then
be here in time for a prelunch swim.
All in all, not bad, all the more as they will be in the scant company of principally only Italians (country borders open to some Europeans today and to others on June 15). For lunch they can enjoy one (or make it two) sfogliatelle at Pansa in Piazza del Duomo, a celebrated institution that normally in June is awash in cruise ship passengers. Our Roman friends however will share the piazza only with Amalfitani..
and a few other Italians who have chosen to enjoy Amalfi in these arcadian days of early June.
Eight regions of Italy have no virus cases at all — Puglia, Trentino Alto Adige, Umbria, Sardegna, Valle d’Aosta, Calabria, Molise and Basilicata. That is good news for regions of Italy where summer tourism is key.
As evening approaches in Italy, our friend Giocondo from Furore (Amalfi) is enjoying his Festa della Repubblica with the neighbors across the stairs. They grow the tastiest zucchini on the Amalfi coast, and this evening have fried the succulent flowers of plants that nestle in the dry wall rock face
to accompany a celebratory Negroni that they have made for him.
What better way to toast to Italy ?
Salute !