Last time, I wrote about Italy's long lunch breaks, but did you know that its summer vacation is actually quite long, too? Mentioning this might make you think that Italians spend all their time on holiday, but rather than dilly-dallying about their jobs, they work hard and then play hard, returning to work refreshed.

Because there are many family-managed small businesses with flexibility, and because both large and small businesses take a holiday during the whole week of August 15 (the day of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary), many people take two weeks or more off. People in medicine, etc., are said to take their breaks on a rotation, but numbers of staff in medical facilities are greatly reduced. What a country!

There are statistics which say that 80% of the vacations to which they retire in droves are located in Italy, and 80% of those again are on the beaches and islands of southern Italy. One social factor influencing this is that Italy's economy is centered in the north, and as most people hailing from the south are living in the north, they return to their hometowns for holidays, but stronger still is the basic tendency of people to prefer the ocean for recreation.

In families that go to their hometowns on breaks, the children and mother typically head for the south as soon as school lets out, and the father joins them afterward. There are those, such as some of the younger generation, head for foreign countries, while other culturally-interested people sightsee at domestic historical sites, and still others who seek a respite from the heat escape to the mountains.

During this special mid-August season, urban office areas, stores, and supermarkets, etc. all close, and silence falls upon the streets. It is no overstatement to say that they lose all trace of human life.  It might resemble the way Tokyo has an empty-feeling atmosphere during the Obon season. However, Italy's big difference with Japan is that the period in question is not Japan's two or three days, but instead two or three weeks.

To Italians, summer vacations are the main event of the year. Things to which they look forward and think about all year are where and how they will spend this holiday, and many agonize over deciding. When summer gets close, people ask "What are you doing for vacations?" and as they return from the break with tanned skin, mutually boasting of break activities acts as a method of greeting. Indeed, summer vacations are extremely important, and are intimately intertwined with people's lifestyles.