March 2017 events

March 8 - Festa della Donna. A Women’s Day festival when men bring flowers, usually Mimosa, to the ladies in their lives. The restaurants go all-out with special Festa meals and all over Italy there are festivals, concerts and reduced admission prices for the ladies to museums and other events.

March 15, Rome - “Beware of the Ides of March.” Cultural events in commemoration of the death of Julius Caesar are held in the Roman Forum near his statue. There is the re-enactment of his assassination in the
Torre Argentina archeological site.

March 19 - Feast Day of San Giuseppe. This is Italy’s Father’s Day and is traditionally celebrated with bonfires, pageants and scenes from the life of St. Joseph. At Castel Arquato (Piacenza) the town
celebrates with a festival and the offering of the typical local pastry, the tortello.

Chieti - Fara San Martino. To celebrate the Feast of San Giuseppe, the town organizes a traditional bonfire in the San Martino gorge.

Siena - The saint’s feast day is celebrated in the church of San Giuiseppe, in the Onda quarter of the city and in the subsequent fair of rice fritters and locally made toys held in the adjacent streets.

Udine - Forni Avoltri. Lis cidulis are rounded pieces of burning wood that young men set rolling down the hillside to the valley from the peak of the Colle di Tops.

March 21 - The Festa della Primavera is held in several places across the mainland. Spring festivals focus on regional foods and play off St. Joseph’s Day.  

March 19 - The Rome Marathon. The 42km run starts at the Roman Forum passing many of the Eternal City’s most famous sites including the Vatican and ends at the Colosseum. Runners from all over the world participate. The city streets in Rome’s historic center are closed to traffic for this spectacular run.