Ludi Romani

Another effing festival? Seriously? Yeah. The Romans liked their festivals. They had so many because they also liked the festivals of the deities they co-opted from the regions they conquered and assimilated.

The Ludi Romani was the biggest festival in Rome. Sources debate the origin date, but it's ballparked around the 5th century BCE. Allegedly it started out as a quickie festival, only on the Ides of September, but with an influx of cash, the festival grew larger. Some sources claim they were held annually, others claim they were sporadic for a time but eventually became an annual event.

There were chariot races and plays and concerts and gladiatorial contests and feasts and sacrifices. Actually, I stated all of that backwards: The festival started with a procession to the temple of Jupiter where a cow was sacrificed. I've also read that the procession went from the temple to the Circus Maximus. Its likely both are correct: The festival evolved over the years in length and entertainments presented. During this festival was the Epulum Jovis, a banquet where the statues of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the Capitoline Triad, were adorned and sat at the table with those feasting. They were served the food on the dishes and their priests were their, as one site put it, "gastronomic proxies."

This site has some nifty information as well as the picture of a coin which shows what the Temple probably looked like.

What I can't find is the end date for the Ludi Romani. When were they no longer celebrated? Or are they still celebrated in some form? 

Aside from the historical stuff you can look up on wiki as easily as I can, what I want to focus on a bit is the legend of how the games began: Tarquinus Priscus, later known as Tarquinus the Elder, was the 5th King of Rome. However, he was from Etruria. Legend has it that he was denied political office in Etruria because his father was a Greek immigrant, so he went to Rome to find his fortune. That he did! Further, the legend tells of an eagle swiping his cap when he entered the city and placed it back on his head. I wonder who started that one! He became friends with the 4th King and when his friend passed, Tarquinus talked the senate into declaring him King. Apparently it worked. The Ludi Romani were allegedly started in honor of Tarquin's winning a military victory, which one is debated. He created the Circus Maximus for chariot races.

Little remains of the Circus Maximus, but from the evidence we have, it was effing fabulous! Biggest. Arena. Ever. I've come across a site which claims the last games held at the Circus Maximus, not specifically the Ludi Romani, were in 549 CE. A thousand years of games. Today? Pft. They knocked down and rebuilt Giant Stadium AND Yankee Stadium in the past few years. Take a gander here, and you'll be able to see what's left, which is barely the footprint.

Circus Maximus depicted on the back of a coin

So now the question is, why oh why was Rome partying while everyone else in Italy was bringing in the last harvest and preparing for winter? The games were free to all, but was this just a festival for the wealthy? More tomorrow, perhaps on what the rest of Italia was up to in September!

Feasts!

There are many feasts in September. Sometimes they're called festivals or street fairs, but to an Italian it's a "feast." That's why there's always so much food! ;)

This weekend we have the Hoboken Italian Festival. This is, I believe, a misnomer. It should be called The Feast of The Madonna of Molfetta, or The Feast of Madonna Dei Martiri (Madonna of the Martyrs). Here is the page explaining the origin of the festival. Whatever the story is, the pattern has remained the same since ancient times: Miraculous event happens or is petitioned, a celebration ensues, celebration is continued yearly ad infinitum! This is half the reason the Roman calendar gets so confusing- there are overlapping holidays and events!

Here is an excerpt from the Italian web site for this Madonna, explaining it:

7, 8, 9 September - Exhibition and festival at sea
The festival at sea, commonly called the festival of Médonn coincides with the exhibition of Molfetta, granted in 1395 by King Ladislas of Durazzo who actually granted eight days "free from taxes" September 8 to 15, decreased during the centuries to the current 3 days. Opportunity for profitable trade for centuries, especially of animals and artifacts of the place, has now transformed into the celebration that we all know.
Since the beginning of the city of Molfetta, which has always characterized by a strong link between the navy and the Madonna of the Martyrs, was to reinforce this relationship by proclaiming the Madonna of the Martyrs protector of sailors.
On September 8, 1846 the statue was placed on two racks sailing and transported to the quay.
Thus began the tradition of the festival at sea, which is repeated every year with great concourse of people, including many emigrants who returned for the occasion from all over the world in his native country.


Basically, Italian immigrants from Molfetta settled in and around Hoboken and kept up the celebration of their homeland. I hope to make it to the festival at some point this weekend, especially for the traditional singers and dancers.

Next week starts the San Gennaro Feast in Little Italy. He is the patron of Naples. I have family from Naples who settled in Little Italy about 125 years ago, well before this feast was started. I feel no particular connection to that figure, but I do like the celebration! I will post more about that next week!

Tonight I'm prepping for a workshop I'm giving tomorrow on The Witchcraft of Italy. It's a quickie workshop, so I'm going to pare it down to the basics: Everything is Italian! There, now you can go home ;)