© Vignaccia76 · CC BY-SA 3.0Request removal
🔔 The Italian Almanac

October 18

Stories and curiosities for October 18, from the Italy of a thousand bell towers.

Italian records

The tiles on Brunelleschi's dome came from Impruneta, which holds its San Luca fair on 18 October

There is Impruneta clay on top of Florence cathedral: the roof tiles of Brunelleschi's dome came out of the kilns of this village between the Ema and Greve streams, south of the city. Terracotta is an old trade here: a document dated 23 March 1308 already records a guild of 23 jar and jug makers set up to police quality. On 18 October Impruneta celebrates its patron, Saint Luke, and that week holds its fair: tradition traces it back a thousand years, to shepherds walking from the Apennines down to the Maremma; the first written record is an edict by Archbishop Alessandro Marzi Medici in the 1600s.

📍 Discover Impruneta

Today's tidbits

Impossible geography

The Cinque Terre are three municipalities: Vernazza holds two of the five villages

Five villages in a row on the Ligurian coast near La Spezia, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, but only three town halls. Corniglia is a hamlet of Vernazza, Manarola a hamlet of Riomaggiore. Since 1997 the Cinque Terre have been a UNESCO World Heritage site together with Portovenere and the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto; the national park followed in 1999, covering 3,860 hectares, and a marine protected area between Punta Mesco and Punta di Montenero has existed since December 1997. The villages are linked by the Genoa-Pisa railway and the Sentiero Azzurro footpath. On 25 October 2011 a cloudburst hit Monterosso and Vernazza.

📍 Vernazza →
Words born here 1773

Marsala, the wine that carried a Sicilian town's name around the world, was an Englishman's idea in 1773

A wine aged in wooden casks, much like the Spanish and Portuguese wines then in fashion in England: that is what the merchant John Woodhouse found when he landed in the port of Marsala, in western Sicily, in 1773. To make it survive the voyage he added grape brandy and shipped some fifty barrels home: they sold. In 1806 Benjamin Ingham opened up markets in Europe and the Americas, in 1833 Vincenzo Florio began making it too, and by 1853 the town's cellars were turning out 6,900 casks. Marsala has been a DOC wine since 1969, and the town's name, thought to come from the Arabic marsa Iliah, “port of God”, now travels the world on a label.

📍 Marsala →

🎉 Celebrations today in… 5

5 towns with a guide celebrate their patron saint on October 18

San Luca Evangelista 3

ImprunetaTuscany CapenaLazio San LucaCalabria

Other saints of the day 2

Motta d'Affermosan Luca · Sicily Ovadasan Paolo della Croce e san Giovanni Battista · Piedmont
Patron saint festival 📍 Castel Goffredo

Feast of Saint Luke

📅 Every year, on 18 October

On 18 October Castel Goffredo celebrates Saint Luke, declared the town's patron in 1725; the Fiera di San Luca, established in 1457 by Alessandro Gonzaga, is still held today.

Patron saint festival 📍 Praiano

Feast of Saint Luke

📅 Every year, on 18 October (and the first Sunday of July)

On 18 October Praiano celebrates its patron Saint Luke; the hamlet of Vettica Maggiore has its own patron, Saint Januarius, celebrated on different dates.

Patron saint festival 📍 Capena

Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist

📅 Every year, on 18 October

On 18 October Capena celebrates its patron Saint Luke the Evangelist; the municipal territory preserves the Villa dei Volusii Saturnini and the archaeological site of Lucus Feroniae.

Patron saint festival 📍 Impruneta

Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist

📅 Every year, on 18 October

On 18 October Impruneta celebrates its patron Saint Luke the Evangelist; during the feast week the town holds the Fiera di San Luca, among the oldest livestock fairs in Europe.

Patron saint festival 📍 San Luca

Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist

📅 Every year, on 18 October

On 18 October San Luca celebrates its patron and namesake Saint Luke the Evangelist; the town is the birthplace of writer Corrado Alvaro and lies near the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Polsi.

Patron saint festival 📍 Lauriano

Feast of San Benigno

📅 Every year, on the third Sunday of October

On the third Sunday of October Lauriano, a municipality of 1,493 inhabitants in the province of Turin, celebrates its patron San Benigno.

Patron saint festival 📍 Colleretto Giacosa

Feast of San Felice

📅 Every year, on the third Sunday of October

On the third Sunday of October Colleretto Giacosa, a municipality of 603 inhabitants in the province of Turin, celebrates its patron San Felice.

Patron saint festival 📍 Montanaso Lombardo

Feast of San Giorgio

📅 Every year, on the third Sunday of October

On the third Sunday of October Montanaso Lombardo, a municipality of 2,231 inhabitants in the province of Lodi, celebrates its patron San Giorgio (Saint George).

Patron saint festival 📍 Mezzana Rabattone

Feast of San Giovanni Battista

📅 Every year, on the third Sunday of October

On the third Sunday of October Mezzana Rabattone, a municipality of 502 inhabitants in the province of Pavia, celebrates its patron San Giovanni Battista (Saint John the Baptist).

Patron saint festival 📍 Borgo San Siro

Feast of San Siro

📅 Every year, on the third Sunday of October

On the third Sunday of October Borgo San Siro, a municipality of 1,035 inhabitants in the province of Pavia, celebrates its patron San Siro of Pavia.

Patron saint festival 📍 Valera Fratta

Feast of San Zenone

📅 Every year, on the third Sunday of October

On the third Sunday of October Valera Fratta, a municipality of 1,669 inhabitants in the province of Lodi, celebrates its patron San Zenone.

Patron saint festival 📍 Corvino San Quirico

Feast of the Madonna Immacolata

📅 Every year, on the third Sunday of October

On the third Sunday of October Corvino San Quirico, a municipality of 1,034 inhabitants in the province of Pavia, celebrates its patroness the Madonna Immacolata (Immaculate Virgin).

Patron saint festival 📍 Moriondo Torinese

Feast of the Most Holy Saviour

📅 Every year, on the third Sunday of October

On the third Sunday of October Moriondo Torinese, a municipality of 820 inhabitants in the province of Turin, celebrates its patron the Santissimo Salvatore (Most Holy Saviour).