On 18 BC, the emperor Augustus declared a stretch of late-summer rest days he called the Feriae Augusti, the “festivals of Augustus” — and more than two thousand years later, Italians still take his holiday, now folded into 15 August. That single day has become the pivot of the entire Italian summer: shops shutter, cities empty, and beaches fill from Liguria to Sicily. This is Guide № 002 in The Love Italy Guide series.
In this guide
- The Emperor Who Invented a Long Weekend
- What Actually Happens on 15 August
- The Great August Shutdown
- Food, the Real Centre of the Day
- Practical Advice for Visitors
- Myths Worth Retiring
- Frequently Asked Questions
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