Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Prayers are followed by bonfires and feasting

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on this day throughout Italy every year.

Christmas tree in Salerno
lit up for the festivities
Photo: Soloxsalerno (CC BY-SA 3.0)

It is a public holiday everywhere, when banks and offices are closed, special masses take place in the churches and people celebrate the start of Christmas.

It is an official festa in the Christian calendar, when the immaculate conception of Jesus is celebrated. The day commemorates Mary, the mother of Jesus, being given the grace of God to live a life ‘free of sin.’

Many people attend Mass and the Pope leads the celebrations from Rome.

The day was officially declared a festa by the Vatican in 1854.

It marks the official start of the Christmas season in Italy, when the lights and trimmings go up.

The shops are open and do a brisk trade, with many people not at work taking the opportunity to do some Christmas shopping.

Bonfires are lit in some parts of Italy and the different areas celebrate with their own traditional food and wine.

Travel tip:

Since 1953, the Pope has visited the Column of the Immaculate Conception in Piazza Mignanelli in Rome on 8 December and laid flowers at the base of this monument to the Virgin Mary.

Christmas market in Piazza Navona
Photo: Mitravabanerjee [CC BY-SA 3.0)

Travel tip:

A big Christmas market is held every year in Piazza Navona in the centre of Rome, running until Epiphany on 6 January. The stalls sell Christmas decorations and gifts, nativity figures, traditional food, roasted chestnuts and hot wine.



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Feast of St Ambrose in Milan

Celebrating the life of a clever and fearless Bishop

The feast day of Milan’s patron saint, St Ambrose (Sant’Ambrogio), is celebrated in the city on this day every year.

The Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio in Milan
Photo by Novellon (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The day is an official public holiday in Milan. Banks, Government offices and schools are closed along with some shops. Public transport may also be restricted.

A service is held in the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio, the church built by Ambrose himself. The date also marks the opening of the traditional 'Oh Bej! Oh Bej!' street market, with stalls selling local food, wine and crafts.

Aurelius Ambrosius was born in the year 340. He trained as a lawyer and was a great orator before becoming Bishop of Milan in response to popular demand.

After his ordination he wrote about religion, composed hymns and music and was generous to the poor.

He stood up to the supporters of the alternative Arian religion, who wanted to take over some of Milan’s churches, and he also told a Roman Emperor what he had done wrong and how to atone for his sins.

A famous piece of advice that he gave to his congregation was to follow local liturgical custom rather than to argue against it. He said: “When I am at Rome I feast on a Saturday, when I am at Milan I do not.” This is believed to be the origin of the phrase: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

He died at the age of 57 in the year 397 and, after he was made a saint, his feast day was fixed to take place on the anniversary of his ordination each year.

Travel tip:

The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio is in south west Milan in Piazza Sant’Ambrogio. It was originally built by Ambrose, when he was bishop, on the site of an earlier Christian burial ground. After his remains were placed there, the church was named after him. It was rebuilt in the 11th century and further modified in the 15th century.

Milan's Bibliotheca Ambrosiana

Travel tip:

The Pinacoteca Ambro- 
siano, named after St Ambrose, is an art gallery and cultural complex founded in the 17th century by Cardinal Federico Borromeo. Located in Piazza Pio, in the centre of Milan, the complex also houses the Bibliotheca Ambrosiana, one of the first libraries to be open to the public.

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Baldassare Castiglione – courtier and diplomat

Writer left a definitive account of life at court in Renaissance Italy

Baldassare Castiglione, the author of the Italian classic, The Book of the Courtier, was born on this day in 1478 near Mantua in Lombardy.

Raphael's portrait of Castiglione
now housed in the Louvre in Paris

His book about etiquette at court and the ideal of the Renaissance gentleman, has been widely read over the years and was even a source of material for Shakespeare after it was translated into English.

Castiglione was born into a noble household and was related on his mother’s side to the powerful Gonzaga family of Mantua. After studying in Milan he succeeded his father as head of the family and was soon representing the Gonzaga family diplomatically.

As a result he met Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and later took up residence in his court, which was regarded as the most refined and elegant in Italy at the time and received many distinguished guests.

The court was presided over by the Duke’s wife, Elisabetta Gonzaga, who impressed Castiglione so much that he wrote platonic sonnets and songs for her.

During this time he also became a friend of the painter, Raphael, who painted a portrait of him.

Castiglione later took part in an expedition against Venice organised by Pope Julius II during the Italian wars and was then sent by Pope Clement VI as a papal ambassador to Madrid. He died after contracting the plague in Toledo in 1529.

His book, Il Libro del Cortegiano, The Book of the Courtier, was published in 1528, the year before he died. It was written in the form of an imaginary dialogue between Elisabetta Gonzaga and her guests. Some readers have seen it as a guide to how to behave in society, while others have interpreted it as a philosophical work. But Castiglione has undoubtedly left us with a definitive and fascinating account of Renaissance court life.

Travel tip:

Mantua, the capital of the art-loving Gonzaga dukes, is an atmospheric city in Lombardy with many interesting things to see. The highlight is the magnificent Ducal Palace, which dominates the northern part of the city. It has about 500 rooms, which include the remarkable Camera degli Sposi, adorned with frescoes by Andrea Mantegna.

The imposing Ducal Palace in Urbino
Photo by Florian Prischi (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Travel Tip:

Urbino, which is inland from the Adriatic resort of Pesaro, is a majestic city on a steep hill.  It was once a centre of learning and culture, known not just in Italy but also in its glory days throughout Europe. The Ducal Palace, a Renaissance building made famous by Castiglione’s 'The Book of the Courtier', is one of the most important monuments in Italy and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

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Pope Julius II

Patron of the arts who commissioned Michelangelo's greatest works

 

Giuliano della Rovere, who was to become Pope Julius II, was born on this day in 1443 at Albisola near Genoa.

The Sistine Chapel: Michelangelo's depiction
of the Creation of Adam

He is rem- embered for granting a dispensation to Henry VIII of England to allow him to marry Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his older brother, Arthur, and for commissioning Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

Giuliano was born into an ecclesiastical family. His uncle, Franceso della Rovere, later became Pope Sixtus IV and it was the future pope Francesco who arranged for his nephew to be educated at a Franciscan friary in Perugia. Giuliano became a bishop in 1471 and then a cardinal before being himself elected Pope in 1503.

Giuliano was Pope for nine years until he died of fever in 1513. When Henry VIII later asked for his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to be annulled so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, he claimed that Pope Julius II should never have issued the dispensation to allow him to marry his sister in law. But the Pope at the time, Clement VII, refused to annul the marriage so Henry VIII divorced the Catholic Church instead, leading to the English Reformation.

During his time as Pope, Julius II ordered the old St Peter’s Basilica to be demolished and commissioned the building of the new church that was to replace it. Some of Michelangelo’s greatest works, including the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, were also commissioned by Julius.
The remains of Pope Julius II lie with those of his uncle, Pope Sixtus IV, under the floor in St Peter’s Basilica.

Travel tip:
The present day St Peter’s Basilica in Rome was completed in 1626, having been commissioned by Pope Julius II during his papacy. It is believed to be the largest church in the world and Michelangelo, Bramante and Bernini were among the artists who contributed to the design.

St Peter's Basilica in Rome was rebuilt
by Pope Julius II
Photo by Jean-Paul Grandmont/CC-BY SA

Travel tip:
The Sistine Chapel is in the Apostolic Palace, where the Pope lives, in Vatican City. The chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, the uncle of Pope Julius II, who had it restored during his papacy. Between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo painted the ceiling at the request of Pope Julius II.  The artist's amazing masterpiece is in bright colours, easily visible from the floor. It covers more than 400 square metres of the ceiling of the chapel.

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