25 Aprile- Festa Della Liberazione

It started with me looking out the window, and wondering if the post office was open today. Why am I wondering? Because it is a national holiday here – Festa Della Liberazione.  Over the weekend, Jack and I both voted absentee in the June 2016 New Jersey State Presidential Primary. After emailing a PDF of the ballot to New Jersey, the rules say we must immediately  airmail copies of said ballad. (Does that mean I’m voting twice?)

Since things close here when there are no holidays and some are open when there are holidays – no I haven’t figured out the system yet – I wondered if the Ufficio Postale would be open. It was freaking pouring buckets of freezing rain and I didn’t want to go to the post office if it was closed. The Ufficio Postale web site didn’t have a list of hours or holidays.  Many Italian websites are difficult for me to explore – it isn’t the language barrier – it is the – who the hell designed this – barrier.  Maybe the hours are buried somewhere – or maybe the hours change from region to region or province to province.  The province of Milan had its own easy to use website and list of post office hours. La Provincia di Benevento did not.  Bo!

The temperature dropped to close to freezing, the rain turned to slush and I decided it would be more interesting to find out what Festa Della Liberazione was all about then to walk down the hill to the post office in the pouring rain to find out if it was closed.

Men and Women Partisans – We Honor You!

Thanks to Giorni-Festivi.it, I got the story –

L’anniversario della Liberazione, conosciuto anche come Festa della Liberazione, è un giorno festivo italiano nonché festa nazionale. Essa è conosciuta anche come anniversario della Resistenza, o semplicemente “25 aprile”. 

The anniversary of the Liberazione, also known as the Liberation Day is an Italian public and national holiday. It is also known as the anniversary of Resistance, or simply “25 April”. The day honors those partisans  who, during World War II, opposed the fascist government of Mussolini and German occupation by Hitler’s Nazis.  It is a symbolic date.

My favorite source of information, The Pontelandolfo News, has a full story and you can – on my computer anyway – read it in English.

There are celebrations in big cities – particularly the north where citizens eagerly joined the partisans to help kick out the Nazis.  Jack and I celebrated by going to Don Peppino in Campolattara.  When I think about it – we were thinking and talking about partisans (including the briganti)  who suffered for freedom – while we gorged on great artigianale food – hmmmmm.  Is that like having a beer blast at the beach on Memorial Day?  Our hats are off to all those brave men and women who fought for freedom then and continue to fight for freedom now.

PS – we drove to the piazza and the Ufficio Postale was closed.  So was the bank, edicolo, tabacchi etc.  Guess what was open???

Ci Vediamo!