As we are now well into winter and anticipating spring, I was considering what the Italian seasons mean to me.
What The Italian Seasons Mean To Me
We tend to think of spring, summer, autumn, winter as our four Italian seasons but they tend to be dictated by time of year and the weather. So, in Italy, summer is very hot; I have known it get so hot that in the height of the sun if you go outside you can feel your hairs curling on your arms from the heat. No wonder the Italians disappear indoors for a large part of the afternoon!
In the winter, we have many mild days where we can still sit in the sun and eat lunch but sometimes particularly during January and February it can be very cold and that is when we have the most snowfall. Three years ago we were snowed in for three weeks during February (when we were supposed to be getting married but that is another story).
For me though, the Italian seasons are not dictated by the name of the month or the external temperature it is what nature is doing around me.
Reading Nature Around Me
Spring
One of the first things that tells you that winter is over is the appearance of wild violets on the land, a beautiful carpet of color that is then joined by the almond blossom. Apart from being so pretty, almond blossom has the most glorious perfume. As the petals fall and the wind blows it always reminds me of wedding confetti which I guess shows the romantic in me. Almond blossom is closely followed by apricot blossom and all the other fruit trees including plum.
Next on the horizon are all the spring wildflowers with poppies their crowing glory. We have fields of breathtaking red that spring up around us and I have photographed and painted on many occasions.
Summer
Summer means dry and crackly grass and the countryside loses a lot of its lush green color apart from where the farmers are using sprinklers on their fields of crops. It is the season of wildfires and we see the fire planes collecting water from the lake below us to extinguish them. Locally, people harvest melons by hand and always look like they will melt in the heat. A bit later tomatoes are harvested usually using a specially adapted tractor.
On the other side of the mountain near Gubbio they harvest tobacco using really tall tractors with big wheels (that remind me of people walking with their trousers hitched up) and the tobacco leaves are hung in specially built buildings to dry.
Summer and early autumn around here means fields of lazy sunflowers.
Autumn
By early autumn the grapevines are ripe and the annual grape harvest, or vendemmia takes place. Tractors trundle along the roads laden with grapes for pressing. This is followed in late autumn by olive picking. We are surrounded by olive trees and have our own olive grove so this is a particularly active time of year. Once again tractors trundle along the roads but this time laden with crates of olives.
Winter
Then, after the wild cyclamen have finished flowering, we enter full winter. The main activity in the countryside around us in December is hunting, for wild boar in particular. Not something we encourage near our house but it is an Italian countryside tradition. January and February bring the coldest winds and snow. Which makes the countryside picturesque but makes moving around difficult if you live off the beaten track.
As we get into March we see the weather starting to change. By April we are seeing the violets starting to emerge once again. So I guess you could say I live by nature’s Italian seasons?
Originally published in 2015 and updated and republished 7 March 2022.
Before you go
My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.
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Thank you for reading!
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