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🔔 The Italian Almanac

September 12

Stories and curiosities for September 12, from the Italy of a thousand bell towers.

Busted myths 📅 1683

No, the cappuccino was not invented in Vienna to honour the friar from Aviano

The legend is irresistible: September 1683, the Ottoman siege of Vienna has just been broken, the retreating Turks leave behind sacks of coffee, and the Viennese name the new brown drink after the order of Father Marco d'Aviano, the Capuchin friar who had rallied the Christian armies. It is a popular myth, with no historical evidence. The friar, though, was real: born in Aviano, in Friuli in Italy's north-east, in 1631, he stood with the troops of the Holy League at Vienna and said mass on the Kahlenberg hill. And the drink's name does owe something to the friars: it recalls the brown of their habit.

📍 Discover Aviano

Today's tidbits

Place names

Pocapaglia: a village name that sounds like an excuse, and ravines dug by the devil

On the map of the Roero hills, in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont, north-west Italy, one name reads like a shrug: Pocapaglia, literally little straw. The village balances on one of the region's strangest landscapes, the Rocche del Roero — deep gorges and gullies cut into the sand about 250,000 years ago, when the capture of the Tanaro river diverted its course and unleashed ferocious erosion. Local folklore prefers a quicker explanation: it was Beelzebub himself who dug through the hills of Pocapaglia for one whole night, and by dawn the ravines were done.

📍 Pocapaglia →
On the table today

The Italia grape of Canicattì: a 1911 Lombard cross that became Sicilian

The variety is called Italia, yet it was not born in Sicily: Luigi and Alberto Pirovano bred it in 1911 in Vaprio d'Adda, near Milan, by crossing Bicane and Muscat Hamburg. Its promised land, however, turned out to be Canicattì, in the basin of the upper Naro river among the fertile hills of inland Agrigento, in southern Sicily: from the 1970s the intensive cultivation of this white table grape reshaped the town's economy, and since 1997 the Uva da tavola di Canicattì has carried the European PGI label of protected geographical indication. In the fruit bowl, a piece of Sicily with Lombard roots.

📍 Canicattì →

🎉 Celebrations today in… 13

13 towns with a guide celebrate their patron saint on September 12

Santissimo Nome di Maria 3

BusallaLiguria Capriva del FriuliFriuli Venezia Giulia OsigliaLiguria

Other saints of the day 10

TerzignoImmacolata Concezione · Campania ZapponetaMadonna della Misericordia · Puglia PianezzaMadonna della Stella · Piedmont Casal di PrincipeMaria SS. Preziosa · Campania MareneNatività di Maria Vergine · Piedmont Villar San CostanzoSan Costanzo · Piedmont Santa Cesarea Termesanta Cesaria Vergine · Puglia Pellizzanosanta Maria · Trentino-South Tyrol Metasanta Maria del Lauro · Campania BuonalbergoSantissima Madonna della Macchia · Campania
Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Bertonico

Feast of San Clemente Papa

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September

On the second Sunday of September Bertonico, a municipality of 1,168 inhabitants in the province of Lodi, celebrates its patron San Clemente Papa.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Vione

Feast of San Remigio

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September

On the second Sunday of September Vione, a municipality of 723 inhabitants in the province of Brescia, celebrates its patron San Remigio.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Albonese

Feast of Santa Maria and San Paolo

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September

On the second Sunday of September Albonese, a municipality of 565 inhabitants in the province of Pavia, celebrates its patrons Santa Maria and San Paolo.

Patron saint festival 📍 Meta

Feast of Santa Maria del Lauro

📅 Every year, on 12 September

On 12 September Meta celebrates Santa Maria del Lauro, whose statue tradition holds was found in the 8th century; Holy Week brings another cherished custom, that of the two processions.

Patron saint festival 📍 Osiglia

Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

📅 Every year, on 12 September

On 12 September Osiglia celebrates the Holy Name of Mary; with fewer than 500 residents, it is one of the smallest municipalities in Liguria, overlooking the lake that bears its name.

Patron saint festival 📍 Busalla

Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

📅 Every year, on 12 September

On 12 September Busalla celebrates the Holy Name of Mary; since 2017 the town has also hosted the Space Festival, devised by Busalla-born astronaut Franco Malerba.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Mangone

Feast of the Madonna dell'Arco

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September

On the second Sunday of September Mangone, a municipality of 1,823 inhabitants in the province of Cosenza, celebrates its patroness the Madonna dell'Arco.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Cardè

Feast of the Madonna della Salesea

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September

On the second Sunday of September Cardè, a municipality of 1,134 inhabitants in the province of Cuneo, celebrates its patroness the Madonna della Salesea.

Patron saint festival 📍 Pianezza

Feast of the Madonna della Stella

📅 Every year, on 12 September

On 12 September Pianezza celebrates the Madonna della Stella; on the third Sunday of September the town instead runs the Palio dij Semna-Sal, born from a popular legend.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Tassarolo

Feast of the Madonnina di sant'Ambrogio

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September

On the second Sunday of September Tassarolo, a municipality of 636 inhabitants in the province of Alessandria, celebrates its patroness the Madonnina di sant'Ambrogio.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Pieve del Cairo

Feast of the Nativity of Mary

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September

On the second Sunday of September Pieve del Cairo, a municipality of 2,108 inhabitants in the province of Pavia, celebrates the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.

Patron saint festival 📍 Carini

Feast of the Santissimo Crocifisso

📅 Every year, from 12 to 14 September

On 14 September Carini celebrates the Santissimo Crocifisso, patron since the city passed from the diocese of Mazara del Vallo to that of Monreale, replacing the older patron Saint Vitus; the feast lasts three days, from 12 to 14 September.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Cerva

Feast of the Santissimo Nome di Maria Vergine

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September

On the second Sunday of September Cerva, a municipality of 1,269 inhabitants in the province of Catanzaro, celebrates its patroness the Santissimo Nome di Maria Vergine.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Garlasco

Our Lady of the Assumption, patron with the Palio of the districts

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September, with a palio among the districts and flag-throwers

Garlasco celebrates Our Lady of the Assumption on the second Sunday of September, in the church dedicated to her, with processions in period costume, palio contests among the districts, flag-throwers, historic markets and food stalls. On Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, instead, a historic country fair is held at the Sanctuary of the Bozzola.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Vobarno

Our Lady of the Rock, patron by a vow made in wartime

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September and the following Monday, for a wartime vow

Vobarno celebrates Our Lady of the Rock on the second Sunday of September and the following Monday: the feast celebrates a vow made by the townspeople to the Madonna in wartime, in the shrine dedicated to her.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Cornate d'Adda

Saint Aloysius, patron moved to autumn for harvest time

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September; Saint Aloysius's day falls on 21 June but was moved due to harvest

Cornate d'Adda celebrates its patron Saint Aloysius on the second Sunday of September, in the Church of San Giorgio Martire. As Saint Aloysius's day falls on 21 June, until the late 20th century summer was harvest time, so the feast was moved to autumn.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Maletto

Saint Anthony of Padua, patron with Saint Vincent Ferrer as co-patron

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September; Saint Vincent Ferrer, co-patron, is celebrated on the third Sunday of September

Maletto celebrates Saint Anthony of Padua on the second Sunday of September and Saint Vincent Ferrer, co-patron, the following Sunday; their statues, Baroque works by Gerolamo Bagnasco, stand in the church built in 1785.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Verolengo

Saint John the Baptist, patron of the Good Friday procession

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September; on Good Friday evening the crucifix is carried in procession

Verolengo celebrates Saint John the Baptist on the second Sunday of September; on Good Friday evening, the crucifix held in an intimate single-nave church is carried in procession through the town's streets.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Leonessa

Saint Joseph of Leonessa and the Palio del Velluto

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September

Leonessa celebrates its patron Saint Joseph of Leonessa (1556-1612) on the second Sunday of September. Around 29 June, the Palio del Velluto is run, held without interruption from 1464 to 1556 and revived in 1997.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Bellusco

Saint Justina, patron of the flower float palio since 1955

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September, with the Palio di Santa Giustina since 1955

Bellusco celebrates Saint Justina on the second Sunday of September, in the church dedicated to her. Every year, among the town's districts, the Palio di Santa Giustina is contested, with a jury judging the best biblically-themed flower float: the tradition dates back to 1955.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Quarto

Saint Mary Free Us from Snares, patron of a church consecrated in 1243

📅 Every year, on 12 September, with celebrations lasting about a week

Quarto celebrates Santa Maria Libera Nos a Scandalis on 12 September, with celebrations lasting about a week; the mother church dedicated to her was consecrated by the Puteolan bishop Peter on 23 August 1243, on the site of an even older chapel.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Villaricca

Saint Roch, patron celebrated together with the Madonna dell'Arco and Saint Januarius

📅 Every year, in the second week of September, feast of the Madonna dell'Arco, Saint Roch of Montpellier and Saint Januarius

Villaricca celebrates its patron Saint Roch of Montpellier in the second week of September, together with the Madonna dell'Arco and Saint Januarius, bishop and martyr; on the two following days the Ballata del Giglio is held, with a wooden structure about twenty metres tall carried through the town's streets.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Casamassima

Saint Roch, patron of the «blue town» of Casamassima

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September; the Historic Procession of Conrad IV of Swabia is held on the second Sunday of October

Casamassima celebrates Saint Roch on the second Sunday of September; the town, known as the «blue town» for its blue-painted houses, also re-enacts every year, on the second Sunday of October, a historical episode that really took place in April 1252, with the Historic Procession of Conrad IV of Swabia.

Patron saint festival 📍 Reggio di Calabria

The Madonna della Consolazione

📅 Every year, on the second Saturday of September; Saint George on 23 April

On the second Saturday of September Reggio carries the Vara with the image of the Madonna della Consolazione in procession. The other patron, Saint George, has his date on 23 April.

Patron saint festival In 320 days 📍 Origgio

The Nativity of Mary, patron of the Goods and Livestock Fair

📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of September; around 25 April brings the Goods and Livestock Fair

Origgio celebrates the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on the second Sunday of September. Around 25 April, the Goods and Livestock Fair is held, with skill contests for cattle and sheep and goats across the whole municipal territory.