(essea) Palermo looks almost surreal on Ferragosto. I am walking through a deserted city, on empty streets. Only a few tourists dare to go out in the hottest hours of the day. Among them, a group of young travellers from the Usa. One of the girls looks very pleased to be asked about her trip. She’s been here for two days and she is wondering why the usually fast paced city of Palermo looks like a ghost city today:
"What is going on..where have all the locals gone?"

"I assume you don’t know about the 15th of August in Italy?"

"What is there to know – she replies – apart from being the day after the 14th?". I must admit that’s a good point.

Ferragosto (formerly a pagan celebration that became the Assumption Day in Christian times) is a big national holiday. The Italian way to celebrate festivities always includes delicious food and this is no exception. Lasagne, parmigiana, grilled fish are just some of the traditional dishes that appear on every Italian table on the 15th of August. This is one of the most popular days of the year. Not only because young people are usually allowed to spend the night out drinking alcohol and having fun around a bonfire on the beach. It’s the holiday inside holidays that makes it so charming. In fact, August is not an ordinary month in Italy as so many businesses and shops will be simply closed.

Tourists are often discouraged from travelling to Italy in August: unbearable heath, deserted cities, shops and other useful institutions cleverly close for the summer holidays. Last but not least, the August traffic nightmare. Don’t attempt driving on any of Italy’s major highways on any Saturday during this month, unless you want to get stuck in traffic jams for hours. Considered the massive exodus of cars from the nation’s cities, if you are looking for a place on a beach, "Avoid it like the plague" might be good advice as they tend to be overcrowded. This is particularly the case for the weeks immediately before and after the 15th of August as that is the peak of the holiday season for Italians.

However, you can still enjoy Italian historic cities at a much slower pace. August might actually be one of the best times of the year to visit Italy as most Italians will be on vacation, away from the cities. This will make the usually intimidating traffic minimal, so that even parking in the city centre of Palermo (which is normally an almost impossible task) will be easy. Half of the population leaves town but the major touristic sites stay open. You will easily find many restaurants and shops still welcoming tourists, although it is true that most are closed for some portion of the month.

August can be the ideal time to visit Italy’s inland hill towns, especially in the south. The streets come alive with summer festivals and the evening passeggiata is even more lively. Look for a festa or sagra on weekends in August, there you will be able to sample regional food and enjoy live shows. You may run across a medieval festival with folkdancing, music and fireworks along with a procession in historical costumes.

What about the heat? That depends on your definition of hot. Your perception of Italy’s August weather all depends on where you come from. In case the temperatures shoot up, make sure that your rental car and hotels have air conditioning. When all else fails, just do like Italians do and take a siesta. In a sense, that is what the month of August is for.