At this time of year, folks around the world are celebrating saints, martyrs, and the dearly departed. Perhaps the most famous day of remembrance for loved ones who have passed on is the Día de los Muertos celebrated in Mexico and other Latin American countries and communities.
Did you know Italy has its own version of the Día de los Muertos? It’s called the Giorno dei Morti (literally, Day of the Dead) or the Festa dei Morti, and it is an important day in the Catholic tradition, celebrated on November 2.
Taking place the day after All Saints’ Day (Ognissanti in Italian), the November 1 holiday that recognizes all the saints and martyrs of the Christian faith, All Souls’ Day is like the top piece of bread of a sandwich enclosing a magical filling: the night in which the souls of the deceased return to visit the living.
The Festa dei Morti in Italy is a day for families and friends to come together to remember and celebrate the lives of beloved ancestors. In true Italian style, the day is observed with all sorts of regional traditions and foods.
In this newsletter, we’ll go over a little history of Italy’s Day of the Dead and then describe some of the more interesting traditions surrounding this distinctive festa.
A Brief History of Italy’s Day of the Dead
Although it is not a civic holiday like All Saints’ Day, Italy’s Day of the Dead holds equal status in its cultural importance.
The origins of the two holidays are separate, with All Saints’ Day perhaps dating back to the 4th Century — the early days of Christianity — when Greek Christians set aside the first Sunday after Pentecost to honour all the saints and religious martyrs. Pope Gregorio IV declared it an official church holiday in 835 CE and moved the date of its observance to November 1.
It is thought that this date was chosen to coincide with (and thus Christianize) the pagan festival of Samhain that celebrated the Celtic New Year (and from which we get many of our Halloween traditions).
About 160 years later, at the turn of the first millennium CE, the observance of All Souls’ Day was standardized by the abbot of the monastery of Cluny, a Benedictine named Odilo. The Day of the Dead has been observed on November 2 in Western Christianity since that time.
Together with All Hallows’ Eve on October 31, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day form a block of holy days called Allhallowtide (a fact that is probably of interest only to a geek like the author of this newsletter). A more useful fact is that November 1, All Saints’ Day, is a civic holiday in Italy, so businesses, offices, banks, and schools will be closed, and public transportation will be running on the festivo (Sunday/holiday) schedule. The Day of the Dead on November 2 is not a holiday but the country will be humming with gatherings, and cemeteries will be bustling with visitors bringing flowers and lighting candles.
Italian Traditions on All Souls’ Day
On All Souls’ Day in Italy, we find all kinds of traditions, which largely center around food. (No surprise there!)
In many places, folks remember their ancestors by setting a place for them at the table. In Sardegna, family and friends gather for a special meal but the table is not cleared after eating so that the spirits who visit at night can also feast. Children go from door to door to collect goodies, shouting Morti! Morti! — a grim version of “Trick or Treat!” (“morti” means “dead ones” in Italian). The treats received go way beyond your run-of-the-mill, sugar-loaded Halloween candy, and include such seasonal and symbolic foods as chestnuts, fava beans, and dried figs.
In Sicily, children write letters to the deceased as if they were some sort of supernatural Santa. With these wish lists in hand, those in the Great Beyond slip into shops and bakeries during the night to pilfer the coveted gifts (if the children have been good) as well as sweet delights. Children awake to find the gifts and games alongside baskets of chocolates, bonbons, and delicacies particular to the day:
- Frutti di martorana (marzipan formed and decorated to look like real miniature fruit, pictured in the banner image)
- Pupi di zucchero (literally, “sugar dolls” in the form of folkloric characters, pictured in the Brief History section)
- Ossa dei morti (crunchy cookies scented with cinnamon and cloves in the shape of, well... bones (of the dead, to be precise)
- Cotognata (quince paste, often molded into fun shapes)
In Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, groups of family and friends who have dined together leave their houses after sunset to visit the cemeteries, while the souls of the dead enter the vacated homes to rest. When the church bells of the town chime, the spell is broken on this momentary meeting of worlds; the living return to their homes and the spirits return to the afterlife.
Sharing food with the needy is also part of All Souls’ Day in Italy. This tradition harkens back to the pagan festival of Samhain and the Celtic custom of preparing food for ancestors who couldn’t eat it, and then sharing it with those in need in a ceremonial way. Legumes are a frequent component of these offerings, especially lentils, chickpeas, and fava (broad) beans.
The fava bean in particular has a special and longstanding association with the Day of the Dead; the Ancient Romans believed that the fava plant, with its long roots and stem with little ramifications, provided a conduit between the land of the living and the underworld. This is the reason you’ll find the word “fava” or “fave” (plural) in the names of cookies that are eaten on All Souls’ Day.
Perhaps the most famous of these cookies whose name contains a reference to broad beans is Fave dei Morti. Made with ground almonds, lemon zest, cinnamon, eggs, butter, sugar, and grappa or rum, they are soft cookies, usually in a flattened spheric or disc shape, a bit along the lines of Siena’s Ricciarelli.
One quirky tradition (or superstition, as the case may be) that does not revolve around food is found in Abruzzo. In this Italian region set on the Adriatic, you won’t see fishermen going out to sea on All Souls’ Day, for fear of trolling skulls instead of fish.
As in many places around the world, All Souls’ Day is a time to clean and decorate graves with candles and flowers. Chrysanthemums are associated with adorning graves in Italy (and, consequently, would not be the best choice if you wanted to take a bouquet of flowers to an Italian who invited you to dinner, or anyone else living, for that matter).
Despite its ominous name, the Day of the Dead is a time to celebrate and remember the lives of loved ones who have passed on. As in many nations that observe this day, the celebration and remembrance are enveloped by traditions and food, two things that Italy possesses in glorious abundance.
All of our tours are tours by locals! Let one of our professional, English-speaking drivers show you around Italy with a genuine, personal touch.
