Rome in August

I never really knew if I would believe it but living in Rome during August has taught me a valuable lesson: normal business stops.

Just another Sunday in August in Italy... bustling crowds, as usual.

This month is what the locals call Ferie, the time of year when most businesses shut down for up to 4 weeks! When I learned of the concept, it felt more like I was hearing about Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Great Pumpkin. Could this be real?

Yes, real as ravioli. The first week of August hit and when walking through the various neighborhoods of Rome, quite a few small businesses had their doors shut with a white sheet of printer paper taped to the front. Printed on every one were the words, in Italian, "Closed for Ferie until September."

The second week, Rome truly became a ghost town.  August 15th is a national holiday called Ferragosto. Though I won't go into details as to what the holiday is all about, I can safely tell you that this is when every Italian owned business closes.  What makes sense, though, is that most families ended up using the week instead of just the day to escape Rome's heat. I have never seen the city so empty.  I have never gotten across town via bus so quickly. Benefit? Found.

The difficulty for people who are visiting, though is that they want to see the sites, and only the major, most popular ones stay open for this time period.  Heard about that small church or museum your friend told you was one of the coolest things she stumbled on? I give you a 25% chance you'll get in, even if their hours say they are open.  Too often, if they are Italian staffed, that means they won't have the staff necessary to stay open during that week.

The third week of August, I am finding the businesses still closed, but a noticeable difference, Italians are coming out of the word work, so to speak. They must be coming back from their vacations because the streets are starting to fill up again the way "Good Ole Rome" used to be.

I can only assume next week, the last week of August, will be when everyone arrives back at home.  They will be officially back, recharged and ready to do the daily grind all over again, or at least for the next 11 months.