March Events in UMBRIA
Festa delle Donne
Date:
March 8th
Where:throughout Italy
This is a day in which all good men bring bunches
of Mimosa flowers to any special women in their lives
(wives, mothers, secretaries, daughters and so on).
The flowers are bright yellow in color and leave pollen
stains on whatever they touch. The origins of the
custom are unclear but the main contenders are:
1) an initiative set forth by Clara Zetkin and adopted
at the 1910 convention of Socialist Women in
Copenhagen;
2) an adopted measure that set the day apart to
honor women that was established at the second
conference of Communist Women in Moscow in 1921,
and
3) a fire in the Triangle Shirt Factory in New York in
1911, in which 134 Italian women locked inside,
because they were refusing to participate in a strike,
were tragically killed.
The choice of mimosa flowers arose in 1946 when
the organizers of the festivities in Rome wanted to
find a inexpensive seasonal flower. They caught on
like "wildflowers" and the rest is history. True to Italian tradition, however, the holiday has come under fire in recent years from notable women arguing to abolish the holiday because of Italy's dismal number of women in power. The country ranks the lowest in Europe for women managers (8%), parliament members (10%) and ambassadors (0%).
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:first weekend of the month
Where:Arezzo
An antiques and flea market is held in the main piazza
Festival of Saint Ercolano
Date:First week
Where:Perugia
Saint Ercolano's festival will be focused in the area near his church and the steps that bear his name. This is an easy walk from stazione Sant'Ana and from the city center.
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:every second Sunday of the month
Where:Todi
An antiques and flea market is held in the Piazza del Popolo
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:every second Sunday of the month
Where:Spoleto
An antiques and flea market is held in the Piazza del Mercato
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:second weekend of the month with an annual fair in the spring
Where:Assisi
An antiques and flea market is held in the main piazza
La Festa degli Statuti
Date:May 13th, approximately (call to confirm)
Where:Fossato di Vico
One of the oldest of the mysterious Umbrian hill-towns, on May 13th in 996, the town presented the first public reading of its new town 'constitution', a series of opinions, adopted attitudes and laws that was one of the first of its kind. In honor of this event, the town dresses up in medieval costume and recreates the atmosphere their ancestors lived in ten centuries ago. There is a re-reading of the document, numerous parades and wandering minstrels, markets offering medieval foods and recipes, and displays of ancient crafts. Unfortunately, the date is never certain and must be confirmed before you make arrangements.
Web Link:www.tmsweb.com/statuti/
Antiques and Flea Market
Date:third weekend of the month with an annual fair in the spring
Where:Gubbio
An antiques and flea market is held in the main piazza
Antique Furniture Market
Date:third weekend of the month, with an annual fair at the end of August
Where:Cortona
An antiques and furniture is held in the main piazza
Antiques Market
Date:third weekend of the month
Where:Citta di Castello
An antiques and flea market is held in the main piazza
Open Monuments Weekend or Spring with F.A.I.
Date:3rd Saturday or Sunday (weekend falling nearest the first day of spring (21st)
Where:throughout Italy
F.A.I. stands for Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano, which is a society that sponsors the opening of special gardens and monuments ordinarily closed to public access. On this one day rusty keys are turned in creaking locks to allow the curious to peek inside. There is normally no charge for entrance to the over 230 sites that are located in 110 different cities from Lombardy to Sicily. It's a way for lovers of Italian culture to experience the sequestered gems of historic life here as one browses the abbeys, monasteries, villas, sculptured gardens and medieval castles that house these hidden treasures. Highlights of the program include St. Anthony's Abbey in Rome, Milan's Palazzo Borromeo, the estate gardens of the private Sommi Picenardi Villa near Lecco and the Neo-Classical dome of Imperia's Palazzo Strafforello (to behold a panoramic view of the Ligurian coast.) More specific information can be obtained by calling 0141-72.73.74.
Web Link:www.fondo-ambiente.it/attivita/default.htm
