Feragosto - I

Feragosto is upon us. That time of year when Romans close up shop for the month and head off to the seashore or the mountains to escape the heat of August. Most businesses in our neighbourhood will be closed for the entire month - restaurants, pizzerias, gelaterias, tobacco shops, bars, clothing stores etc; only the supermarkets and the vegetable stand run by two Sri Lanka chaps (they never close)will be open for groceries.

The streets will be almost deserted except for a few cars and stray dogs. Sadly along with the golden tans and vacation snaps those dogs are part of the legacy of Feragosto.

This billboard has been appearing around town and can be translated as:

You have the choice?
Are you humane or inhumane.
Leave him with a relative. Leave him with a friend.
Leave him with a keeper. Leave him at a kennel.
But don't leave him in the street. Think about it!
It is a criminal offence to abandon an animal.

And as hard as it is to believe of a "civilized" country there are hundreds of reasons for these billboards wandering the streets in August.

To me it says a great deal about people here and none of it particularly good.

28 luglio - Santa Natalia