This data is used with the sole purpose of obtaining anonymous statistical information on the use of the site and to check the correct functioning; immediately after processing, the data is erased. Ann took my daughter and I to Peppa’s farm for this celebration 3 years ago. But one day a year, that magical 365th day, they literally can’t wait to hop in the tub– the feast day of John the Baptist. The flower-filled water basins must never enter the home. It is also said that there is no better night to make a wish than the night of St. John…you simply have to sleep outdoors with an object which symbolizes your heart’s desire. The ancients believed that on the vigil of June 24th (later designated as the feast of St. John the Baptist by the Church), he elements of Nature – water, fire, earth, and air – were charged with particular powers. They act as if they are being denied a basic human right to choose filth. Pian della Pieve - All requests have to be transmitted to the e-mail address anne@annesitaly.com. The guazza, or dew, which settles during the night of Saint John has long been thought to have mystical powers. This 'acqua di San Giovanni' was a refreshing view! Smiling faces ready for their bath. Our assortment includes flowers in season (broom, rose, lavender, chamomile), herbs from our garden (rosemary, mint, thyme, sage), and aromatic plants along the country roads (bay, walnut, wild fennel). I think I understand why: the guazza descends from the Heavens. Hi! I stopped at Peppa’s on June 24th with Cara from Georgia who has been staying in our Assisi apartment to wash with the perfumed water. - categories: Curiosities, Festivals, Folklore, Rural Life, Special Events - They’ll gather every type of wildflower, plant, blossoms, seed pod, weed and green – particularly those with enticing fragrances. Assisi, 06081 (PG) Italy - Fire? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. “Come for a wash in my perfumed water of San Giovanni!” invites Peppa. Except for the above mentioned navigation data, the user may be asked to supply his own personal data through queries or messages to the email addresses shown in the contact pages. 7 Decree Law 196:June 2003). @Saretta…you can always spread traditions out to new areas! The Body Shop in Perugia used to sell bath bombs that were in fun shapes like dolphins and bears, but they don’t make them anymore. Unfortunately, down here in Apulia San Giovanni is not celebrated in any special way. I, too, am the mother to two stinky little boys who don’t want to wash often enough! Keeping the basin out all night assures that the first guazza or dew will enter the water. For this reason alone I would have voted for his canonization. The same sorry scene repeats itself 364 days a year at my house. And the fact that there was no kicking and screaming about washing is proof enough that l’acqua di San Giovanni works miracles! 3 Comments. After all, always better to be on the safe side. During site consultation, personal data referring to identified or identifiable persons can be processed. Infants will be washed directly in the basin of the acqua di San Giovanni before the water is used by others. They can only tell me that their ancestors “have always done so – and so must we”. Failure to provide such data may be the cause of the inability to obtain the requested information from the company. It must be curative- you look wonderful!? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. All this water worship has made me realize that the water back home is nowhere near ready for worship, I picked up the watersoftenerguide.com to inform myself on what I should do about it. In accordance with the same article, they are entitled to obtain the erasure, conversion into anonymous form or freezing of all data used in breach of the law, to object, on legitimate grounds, to the processing of data relating to him. The data will be mainly processed at the mentioned head office by the people responsible for the website or by other people appointed for occasional maintenance operations, provided that their actions conform to of the guarantees enshrined in the Legislative Decree 196/2003. E-mail: anne@annesitaly.com - But they come out smelling of flowers and herbs, tradition and belief, blessings and health. Maybe this one will appeal to them: http://www.lush.it/main/product.php?node=51&doc=731. Surely tied to ancient pagan beliefs surrounding the summer solstice and the increased potency of the four elements (earth, wind, fire and water) during that night, even today you hear the aforism: La guazza di Santo Gioanno fa guarì da ogni malanno or “St. John’s dew cures all ills”. This information is not collected with the purpose of identifying interested parties, but due to its very nature, the information could lead to user identification through processes and relations with data held by third parties. After all, l’acqua di San Giovanni does not just ward off illness: it protects one from il malocchio. And so, the morning of the 24th, we all gather around our small basin of profumed acqua di San Giovanni. Self-catering apartments in Assisi's town center and nearby countryside. Upon rising, everyone in the family will wash face and hands with the gloriously perfumed acqua di San Giovanni to keep the skin healthy and youthful and to ward off illness. http://www.lush.it/main/product.php?node=51&doc=731, Friendship: Just Add Water (Hot Spring Water, That Is), Local Flavor: The Best Restaurants in Assisi, A Perfect Day, A Perfect Hike: Spoleto’s Monteluco, The Humble Art of the Nativity Crèche in Umbria, Public Transportation: Getting to Assisi from Rome and Florence, Watching Over Amalfi's Legends | Ciao Amalfi, Common Myths and Misconceptions Regarding Italian Culture Fostered by Guidebooks. The important ingredient–and the one which often seems to be the most wily, almost always involving wading through thorny brambles in shorts to get at it–is, of course, l’erba di San Giovanni or St. John’s Wort. The smell of the water is “divine”, and Peppa’s reverence for this ritual is both touching and contagious. And no morning wash is more glorious than that of Umbria’s rural people on June 24th. (For any scientists out there still searching for the missing link between the animal kingdom and homo erectus, I’m here to tell you that it is little boys. The farm women will soak the flowers and plants all night in a basin – outdoors. It sounded a bit odd and finding its origin in a rather generic Paganism didn't shock me at all. First, tradition holds that during the night the Madonna and Saint John pass to leave their benediction on the profumed water, the power of which can stay curses, envy, and harmful charms—especially those directed towards children—and ward off demons and witches. Cell: +39-333-9238448 - Thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender, marjoram, laurel, wild fennel, roses, wild mint, walnut leaves and the yellow wild broom cloaking hillsides dominate in fragrance and are essential elements of the “one hundred grasses/plants.”, Having taken the night dew, the acqua di San Giovanni is ready for a morning wash. Specific safety measures are taken to prevent any data loss, illicit or incorrect use and unauthorized access. In one way or another, Umbria’s June rural rites rotate around the summer solstice. Lei ci segue sempre per poi sfociare nei ... L'acqua che scorre è la vita. In many families, a ladleful of the acqua di San Giovanni is added to the bath water of each that day. Roughly between the ages of 3 and 30.) It’s something we seem to have lost in the US, especially out West. I can also attest to the absolute mess left behind by the glitter and petals, though the glitter isn’t as bad as the petals. Umbria’s Sacred Acqua di San Giovanni. Family fun in Umbria…especially the kids. The soaking flowers and herbs are left outside during the entire night preceding the feast day for two important reasons. We both washed face and hands in the perfumed water. There are numerous traditions tied to the supposed powers of St. John’s dew, which represents the tears of Salome crying over the death of John the Baptist. This tradition takes its name from the saint celebrated on 24th June, St John the Baptist . The bath is fun, the cleanup is not so fun…. The personal data is treated in compliance with the Legislative Decree no. Partita Iva: 02973710540 - credits. And what fire and water elements in Umbria’s late June festivities! The principal for data treatment is Anne Robichaud Pian della Pieve Assisi 06081 (PG) Italy. Date: June 27, 2014 I go first, rinsing my face and hands (sure, I may not be a believer, but the powers of the water are supposed to be especially beneficial to the skin and … Your email address will not be published. 196/2003 and held only for the time necessary to achieve the aim for which it has been collected. I go first, rinsing my face and hands (sure, I may not be a believer, but the powers of the water are supposed to be especially beneficial to the skin and anything that can stave off wrinkles is worth a go, in my book). Tel: +39-075-802334 - Washing the eyes with this water will assure protection against eye diseases. And so, the morning of the 24 th, we all gather around our small basin of profumed acqua di San Giovanni.. The voluntary optional and explicit e-mail transmission to the addresses mentioned in this site implies the subsequent acquisition of the sender’s address, necessary to reply to the queries, as well as the other eventual personal data registered in the message. The data subjects are at any time entitled to obtain confirmation as to whether or not data relating to him are held, to know the contents and the origin, to check the correctness, to ask for integration, updating or change (art. And, second, it is imperitive that the infusion be moistened by the first dew the next morning. In one way or another, Umbria’s June rural rites rotate around the summer solstice. A miracle! Required fields are marked *. The feast day of John the Baptist—La Festa di San Giovanni Battista—falls on June 24th, and on the eve of this holy day we spend an hour walking the fields and meadows around our house along with our Umbrian neighbors gathering petals of wildflowers, snippets of herbs, and scented leaves (tradition holds that there should be one hundred varieties gathered, but we start to fudge our numbers about an hour into the project) which we then soak in water in a small tub overnight to prepare the traditional acqua di San Giovanni. Under Article 13 of the Italian Legislative Decree no. I can recommend Lush bath bombs, especially the Softy (which is full of rose petals), but it doesn’t appear to be available in Italy. My farm neighbors are puzzled when I ask them why the basin must be left out to receive the guazza. Too bad you can’t bottle the scent and make it into a bubble bath for them, though I guess they’re more excited about the flowers in the tub, than the scent. They beg, they plead, they cry, they bargain. Fun in the tub with l’acqua di San Giovanni. In various parts of Italy cloths were once laid out overnight to soak up the dew, which was then wrung out and used for its curative powers. In this data category there are IP addresses or domain names belonging to computers used by users who connect to the site, addresses with URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) notification of the requested resources, time of the request, used method in submitting the request to the server, dimension of the file obtained in replying, the numeric code mentioning the reply status given by the server (successful reply, error, etc?) It’s a shame, because they were fun and had a nice scent that wasn’t ovewhelming (though did overwhelm their little boy smell!). Read more la Festa del Fuoco e Guazza di San Giovanni, June 24th – time for a wash in the water of San Giovanni. I absolutely love reading about the Italian traditions you blog about! Date: June 27, 2014 - categories: Curiosities, Festivals, Folklore, Rural Life, Special Events - 3 Comments. The object will be moistened by the dew come morning, and your wish is sure to come true. The information systems and software procedures required for the functioning of this website, acquire some personal data during their normal service, the transmission of which is implicit in the use of web communication protocols.
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