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🔔 The Italian Almanac

October 7

Stories and curiosities for October 7, from the Italy of a thousand bell towers.

Italian records 📅 1571

Lepanto, 7 October 1571: the Holy League's fleet had sailed from Messina

The largest naval battle in the West since antiquity began in Sicily. In the summer of 1571 the Holy League gathered at Messina 6 galleasses and about 204 galleys, 36,000 fighting men and 30,000 rowers; on 15 and 16 September the fleet sailed in two sections under don Giovanni d'Austria, aged twenty-four. Three of the galleys were Messina's own, commanded by Vincenzo Marullo. Among the soldiers was Miguel de Cervantes: an arquebus shot cost him the use of his left hand for good, and the hospital of Messina nursed him for months. As early as 1572 Andrea Calamech cast the victor in bronze; the statue still stands in Piazza Catalani.

📍 Discover Messina

Today's tidbits

Words born here

Every volcano on Earth is named after an island in the municipality of Lipari

Volcano, Vulkan, volcan, volcán: the word half the world uses for a mountain that erupts comes from Vulcano, one of the Aeolian Islands off Sicily, 20.87 square kilometres and 499 metres high, some 20 km north of the Sicilian coast and part of the municipality of Lipari. The Greeks called it Hiera, the sacred one, and Therasia; myth placed here the forges of Hephaestus, the Romans' Vulcan, and the god's name stuck to the island. English borrowed the word from Italian in the early seventeenth century, straight from the island's name. The last eruption was in 1888-1890, but the fumaroles still breathe sulphur.

📍 Lipari →
Place names 1607

Vittoria, the Sicilian town named after the countess who founded it

On 31 December 1606 Filippo III of Spain signed the privilege; on 2 May 1607 the town was born, though tradition celebrates 24 April. Behind it stood Vittoria Colonna Henríquez-Cabrera, widow of the Count of Modica, struggling with the county's finances: a new settlement on the estate's uncultivated land, to raise its income. And the name she gave it was her own. Four centuries on, Vittoria, in the province of Ragusa in south-eastern Sicily, has 66,871 inhabitants and is still vineyard country: Cerasuolo di Vittoria, a blend of Nero d'Avola and Frappato, has been since 2005 the only Sicilian wine with DOCG status.

📍 Vittoria →

🎉 Celebrations today in… 37

37 towns with a guide celebrate their patron saint on October 7

Madonna del Rosario 20

MartellagoVeneto Castel San Pietro TermeEmilia-Romagna NoaleVeneto StattePuglia AragonaSicily Caerano di San MarcoVeneto GuagnanoPuglia CevaPiedmont Galzignano TermeVeneto MontemesolaPuglia PolesellaVeneto Vizzolo PredabissiLombardy DormellettoPiedmont Montù BeccariaLombardy CalannaCalabria VillalverniaPiedmont AndaliCalabria Forni di SottoFriuli Venezia Giulia CortiglionePiedmont LusiglièPiedmont

Beata Vergine Maria del Rosario 6

Monte San PietroEmilia-Romagna Casarsa della DeliziaFriuli Venezia Giulia Castiglione OlonaLombardy Corno di RosazzoFriuli Venezia Giulia RoppoloPiedmont BottiddaSardinia

Santa Giustina 6

Santa Giustina in ColleVeneto RoanaVeneto PernumiaVeneto MontegaldaVeneto SolagnaVeneto EnegoVeneto

Santa Giustina di Padova 2

Santa GiustinaVeneto PalmanovaFriuli Venezia Giulia

Other saints of the day 3

CairateNostra Signora del Rosario · Lombardy Drapiasan Sergio Martire · Calabria Auronzo di CadoreSanta Giustina di Padova e San Prosdocimo di Padova · Veneto
Patron saint festival 📍 Noale

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Noale celebrates its patron Our Lady of the Rosary; in her honour the town also holds the Sagra della Madonna del Rosario, on the last weekend of September.

Patron saint festival 📍 Martellago

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Martellago celebrates its patron Our Lady of the Rosary; the town also preserves Villa Priuli Grimani Morosini, one of the area's Venetian villas.

Patron saint festival 📍 Lusigliè

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Lusigliè celebrates its patron Our Lady of the Rosary; with just over 500 residents it is one of the smallest municipalities in the Canavese area.

Patron saint festival 📍 Guagnano

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Guagnano celebrates its patron Our Lady of the Rosary with the traditional Fiera Mercato; a local legend links the devotion to a bull found in the woods with a rosary in its mouth.

Patron saint festival 📍 Galzignano Terme

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Galzignano Terme celebrates its patron Our Lady of the Rosary with the Sagra del Rosario, which includes the Palio dei Mussi, a costumed parade re-enacting the 1571 Battle of Lepanto.

Patron saint festival 📍 Ceva

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Ceva celebrates its patron Our Lady of the Rosary; the town also preserves the Fiera di Santa Lucia, dating back to the 15th century and dedicated to livestock.

Patron saint festival 📍 Statte

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Statte celebrates its patron Our Lady of the Rosary; the municipal territory also preserves the Dolmen di San Giovanni, a prehistoric megalithic monument.

Patron saint festival 📍 Andali

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Andali celebrates Our Lady of the Rosary, known as Shën Mëri e Rruzarit in Arbëresh; the town is in fact an Arbëresh municipality, founded by refugees of Albanian origin.

Patron saint festival 📍 Santa Giustina

Feast of Saint Justina

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Santa Giustina celebrates its patron and namesake Saint Justina of Padua; around the same time the Piazza Maggiore hosts the Mostra mercato of local activities.

Patron saint festival 📍 Roana

Feast of Saint Justina

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Roana celebrates its patron Saint Justina; the town is also a center of Cimbrian culture, with the Hoga Zait festival since 2006 and a dedicated museum.

Patron saint festival 📍 Pernumia

Feast of Saint Justina

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Pernumia celebrates its patron Saint Justina; the municipal territory lies within the Parco dei Colli Euganei.

Patron saint festival 📍 Palmanova

Feast of Saint Justina

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Palmanova celebrates its patron Saint Justina of Padua; the same day marks the anniversary of the founding of the Fortress, the star-shaped fortified town on which Palmanova stands.

Patron saint festival 📍 Montegalda

Feast of Saint Justina

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Montegalda celebrates its patron Saint Justina; Villa Fogazzaro Roi Colbachini houses the Museo Veneto delle Campane, with over 200 bells from around the world.

Patron saint festival 📍 Solagna

Feast of Saint Justina

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Solagna celebrates its patron Saint Justina with the Festa delle Ravisse; the territory includes Col Moschin, which lent its name to the well-known assault parachute regiment.

Patron saint festival 📍 Limana

Feast of Saint Justina

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Limana celebrates its patron Saint Justina, with Saint Valentine as co-patron on 14 February; the territory inspired Dino Buzzati's "I miracoli di Valmorel".

Patron saint festival 📍 Enego

Feast of Saint Justina

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Enego celebrates its patron Saint Justina; the town also preserves the Forte Lisser, a fortification on the plateau.

Patron saint festival 📍 Bovino

Feast of Saint Mark of Eca

📅 Every year, on 7 October

On 7 October Bovino celebrates Saint Mark of Eca, one of the town's two patrons; the other patron, Our Lady of Valleverde, is celebrated on 29 August at the sanctuary of the same name.

Patron saint festival 📍 Casoli

Feast of Saint Reparata

📅 Every year, from 7 to 9 October

From 7 to 9 October Casoli celebrates its patron Saint Reparata and co-patron Saint Gilbert of Sempringham; on 8 October the districts parade in traditional costume, bringing local products to the saint's church.

Patron saint festival 📍 Filiano

Our Lady of the Rosary, a patroness with two feasts

📅 Every year, on 7 October (religious) and the second Sunday of August (civil)

Filiano celebrates Our Lady of the Rosary twice: the religious feast on 7 October, the civil one on the second Sunday of August; the mother church dedicated to her opened in 1960.