Mothers in Italy are at the heart of the family and are an integral part of Italy’s social structure. Italian men who are particularly attached to their mothers are called “mammoni,” or mama’s boys, so it’s only natural that Mother’s Day in Italy is an important one.
The holiday in the county, known as Festa della Mamma, dates to 1957, some 50 years after the tradition was born in the United States. The first official celebration for Mother’s Day in Italy took place on May 12, 1957, in the medieval hillside town of Assisi, located in the region of Umbria. Organized by Rev. Otello Migliosi, a local parish priest, the event was so successful that Mother’s Day celebrations blossomed across Italy the following year.
In 1958, a proposal was presented to the Italian Senate to make Mother’s Day an official holiday. Although debated at length, the law passed and Mother’s Day has been celebrated in May in Italy’s 20 regions ever since, first on May 8, and now on the second Sunday of May.
While the holiday is a 20th century phenomenon, there are whispers that the tendency to celebrate mothers dates to the times of ancient Rome. The Ancient Romans had a spring festival dedicated to the goddess of motherhood Cybele, known as Magna Mater, meaning “Great Mother.” This festival, called Hilaria, took place in March and included three days of parades and games. However, while there are similarities between the two holidays, modern-day Mother’s Day is wholly separate from these ancient festivities – if anything, the two celebrations prove that mothers have been revered and respected throughout history.
On the second Sunday of May, mothers in Italy are not allowed to do any chores or housework and are showered with pastries, handpicked flowers, and poems often written by their children at school. It is customary to spend time with family and enjoy a meal, whether at home or out at a restaurant. The holiday isn’t as commercialized as it is in other Western countries like the United States. Grocery and convenience stores in Italy may sell a few themed gifts and knick-knacks, but the day is really meant to be spent with family and friends to express love and gratitude for mothers through quality time and food.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, The Christian Science Monitor, and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.