We are wishing our readers a Happy 2019, filled with joy, love, health, prosperity, success and… pizza, Nutella, spaghetti all’amatriciana, tiramisù, Parmigiano Reggiano, gelato, limoncello, bistecca alla fiorentina, and tortellini. But I’m sure I missed something… feel free to add it in the comments below!
Amore e Psiche (300 B.C), Uffizi Gallery
You may think…November, low season, no lines, right? Wrong. While it is true that November belongs to the low season, a major holiday happening at the beginning of the month turns a few days of this month into high season again. That is the Festa di Ognissanti, or the All Saints’ Day, a festivity celebrated in honor of all the Saints and that falls on the 1st and 2nd of November. This year, for example, all online (skip-the-line) tickets to visit the Uffizi Museum in Florence were sold out not only before November 1st but also during the whole four days of the long holiday weekend. So, what’s plan B? That’s going directly to the museum and buying the tickets on the spot. Just be prepared to find a long line even before they open the doors at 8:15 am. So, consider buying the tickets of the museums you really want to visit well in advance and check the Italian local and national holidays. Oh, one more thing, The Uffizi are closed on Mondays, New Year’s Day, May 1st and Christmas.
Sunday walk
The major meal of the Sunday get-together is always lunch (pranzo). Italians get up, some of them go to mass (messa) and then they meet for lunch. After that, they enjoy the passeggiata (walk) in the piazza, which can be seen as a great parade where people meet other people either by appointment or by chance, and show off their holiday clothes while digesting the rich meal they’ve eaten a few hours before. By dinner time they are back home, ready to check soccer (calcio) results.
{This is an excerpt from chapter 14 “Italian lifestyle” of the eBook “Italy from the Inside. A native Italian reveals the secrets of traveling in Italy”. Buy our eBook on Amazon and leave us a review! If it’s good, you’ll make us happy, if it’s bad, you’ll make us improve. Thank you either way!}