Halloween is not really celebrated by Italians in Florence. The decorations section at the Tutto a 99 store (99 cent store) and the occasional paper chain of pumpkins and cob webs at tourist bars may fool you into thinking Halloween is widely celebrated in Italy, but it is not.
Nevertheless, in the spirit of maintaining my culture, and vicariously celebrating the holiday with my friends back home, we took to making homemade costumes here in Firenze. We decided on a “couple’s costume.” After realizing green face paint for Shrek and Fiona was a commitment to questionable grade paint from the 99 cent store, and building Wall-E and Eve from cardboard would require the assistance of an architect, we agreed on Frog and Princess.
Looking for something to do, outside of being surrounded by tourists binge drinking and competing for the “best” (or rather, most sexy or scary) costume at a bar, or having our intestines scared out of us at a haunted house, we walked the 3km to the cemetery above Florence, past the Piazzale Michelangelo. We visited Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte and its remarkable cimitero.
We left our costumes at home and set out for the climb to the cimitero. The sunkissed facade of the church greeted us as did the breathtaking view of elegant Florence.
This cimitero is like the Uffizi of art cemeteries…elegant, historic, refined, maintained and symoblic of Italian culture and values.
All Saints and Martyrs of Italy by Fra Angelico (Photo credit : http://www.wikipedia.org)
Following Halloween, is La Festa di Ognissanti, All Saint’s Day (1 November) and All Souls’ Day (2 November).
The practice is to remember the dead on 2 November by visiting their graves and leaving flowers. It is also considered a day when the dead visit. So, that means accomodate their visit in Italian culture, by leaving a bottle of fresh water out for the parced deceased, as they do in Lombardia; or leave out a lamp, a bucket of water and a little bread, so that the dead can find their way home and be nourished in Friuli; or bake biscuits in Veneto and Sicily, called “ossi da morti” (the bones of the dead), to their lovers. Some regions set a place for the dead at the table. Some research indicates that in ancient times, Romans used to eat next to the grave of their relatives in order to keep them company.
Zandra's Ways 