August is the most relaxed month of the year in (most of) Italy. But while chiuso per ferie (“closed for vacation”) signs are commonplace, the country’s events calendar isn’t really any less packed — rather, it’s the nature of the events that changes. In lieu of arty exhibitions or high-brow conferences, you’re likely to find re-enactments of obscure historical events, music festivals, rustic rural sagre (food festivals) and open-air film screenings. John Bensalhia shares some of the highlights in this roundup.

Offering further proof that August is far from a “dead month,” Sassari, Sardinia’s second-largest city, just reopened one of the island’s coolest museums after nearly six years. (That’s wise: in September, a month of back-to-school-style momentum, many noteworthy developments, inaugurations and re-openings tend to fly under the radar). 

Speaking of flying, we all know international travel has largely been off the table for the past two-plus years. But borders are now open, by and large, and policies far more lax. Still, some folks are choosing to stay closer to home, embracing the beauty of their own backyard that they might have neglected in years past. Writer Paola Morotti is an Italian with an appetite for international travel, but she’s really enjoyed rediscovering the beauty of her homeland this summer. Here, she gives an overview of a recent jaunt through the Val d’Orcia, sure to delight your senses.

I just took a series of international flights, myself, and had a range of strange reactions to the stresses of travel. I thought this week’s language-learning theme, on “talking health in Italian,” was fitting. Of course, not all trips to the Italian pharmacy or the doctor’s office are particularly high-stakes, but they become a minefield when you aren’t armed with information and vocabulary. This article offers just the right remedies.


Buon weekend! 

Mary Gray, Managing Editor