If living in Italy has taught me anything, it’s that Italians have some awesome traditions. And I’m here to share them with you! Check out these 5 bizarre – but fun – Italian traditions.
5 Oddball but Fun Italian Traditions
1. La Befana
You know witches? The kind that fly on broomsticks, wear pointy hats. Right, so, take that image, but smash it together with Christmas. And that, my friends, is Italy’s beloved Befana.
Yeah, I was just as baffled about this one as you might be.
Much like the Reyes Magos of Spain, and in a similar tradition to Santa Claus, La Befana comes on the night of January 5th (Epiphany Eve) to bring all the good little girls and good little boys of Italy candy or little presents. Kids put a sock or a shoe out for her to fill with goodies, and they might even leave her some cookies. And, if you were a bad girl or boy throughout the year, you can expect a nice lump of coal instead. Sound familiar?
I have to admit, I didn’t really get the whole “witch on Christmas” deal at first. But, Italians reassure me that she’s a kindly, good witch. And I’m down with anyone who wants to give me extra presents or candy on January 5th. We don’t celebrate that holiday in America, so I’ll take it. Add that to the list of reasons to never go back…
2. Ballo della pupa
If the Christmas Witch doesn’t seem bizarre or fun enough for you, then you’ll love the Ballo della pupa.
Typical of southern Italy, *il Ballo della upa*, or the Dance of the Pupa, is a sight to behold. Participants make a mannequin of a woman (which, I assume, is fire-resistant), which is open on the bottom for a dancer to wear. The dancer gets in this mannequin-costume, and starts dancing.
Then they light the whole thing up with tons and tons of fireworks.
And they keep dancing while the fireworks are exploding off of the costume. That a person is inside of. I can’t exactly say that this is a completely normal thing for one to do, but I can say definitively that it is veryyy bizarrely entertaining.
Words can hardly describe it, so I encourage you to see it for yourself.
3. Il volo dell’Angelo
Everybody knows about Venice’s famed Carnevale. The masks. The costumes. The lavish parties. The smiling woman jumping off the bell tower in Piazza San Marco with nothing between her and the ground but a harness strapped onto her dress.
Wait, what?
A staple feature to the Carnevale festivities each year is the iconic Volo dell’Angelo, and it is exactly that: a flying angel. Each year, a different woman is selected to be the “angel”, who has the honor of dressing up in a lavish, beautiful costume, being strapped onto a harness, and then flying down across the Piazza San Marco over the heads of thousands of onlooking people.
The event dates back to the 1500’s, when acrobats used to perform the flight without, well, much protection. Unsurprisingly, this led to tragedy in 1759, when an acrobat didn’t so much fly, but…well, Buzz Lightyeared. For a while afterwards, il Volo dell’Angelo was prohibited during Carnevale. But, fortunately for us lovers of the the bizarre and fun, it came back in the form of its current incarnation.
Ah, Carnevale. Great fun.
4. Calcio Fiorentino
Are you a soccer fan? Football fanatic? And, do you love a good hockey fight? Or don’t like football at all? Calcio Fiorentino is the bizarre but fun sport that you never knew was missing from your life.
Originating in Florence during the Renaissance, Calcio Fiorentino is a 50-minute roller-coaster ride of emotions. The game, which some have referred to as “barbaric” (though I’m not making any judgements), is what you get if you take, like, soccer, rugby, and hockey, mash them all together, and dress it up in Renaissance Fair costumes. Best part? The game is like the Hunger Games of football.
Fun times. All the more reason to move Florence up high on your travel bucket list.
5. La coppa dell’amicizia
If pyrotechnics, flying women, and borderline barbarism aren’t your thing (WHATEVER, you monster), you could always settle down on a cold winter night with some good friends and drink from la coppa dell’amicizia, or the friendship cup. And every time you drink, you have to do a cheers to something – doesn’t matter how random or vulgar it is. You gotta cheer!
We are using this Wikipedia image until a kind soul sends us their La coppa dell’amicizia cheers – we shall pay for your picture and credit you ?
Originating from the Valle d’Aosta region in northern Italy, this terracotta cup (of sorts), often called “la grolla”, normally comes with 4 or more drinking spouts, one for each friend. Typically, coffee is drunk from the grolla. But, different mixtures of coffee and alcohol, or just alcohol, are pretty typical too.
After a day out skiing in the alps with friends, who wouldn’t like to come back home and get tipsy together? Just remember which spout is yours!
Just promise you won’t do the ballo della pupa after drinking from the coppa dell’amicizia. And, on your next trip to Italy, be sure to catch at least one of these 5 strange but true Italian traditions!
What are your favorite Italian traditions? Let us know in the comments!