As you’re interested in the Italian language, you probably will have heard of Antonio Vivaldi. And even if the name means nothing to you, you will have listened to some of his music.
Vivaldi was an Italian priest and lived from 1678 to 1741. But besides his priesthood, he also worked as a musician and music teacher, and eventually became one of the most renowned and composers of his time. He wrote about 500 concerts, 241 of them for the violin. Everyone in Italy knows Vivaldi, so it might be worthwhile to listen to some of his music to have some basic knowledge before you visit the country.
By now, you might be asking yourself, why is this guy writing about an Italian composer as this article is clearly titled “The Months and Seasons in Italian?”
It’s because of his best-known piece, The Four Seasons. That’s a set of four violin concerts, each of them about a single season. So there’s a piece for spring, summer, autumn, and winter. If you haven’t heard it, you should give it a try. Even if classical music isn’t your favorite genre, this truly is a masterpiece! You will find some links to YouTube videos at the end of this article.
But for now let’s get back to our vocabulary and the months and seasons in Italian.
Table of Contents
- Months in Italian
- Seasons in Italian
- Dates in Italian
- Holidays in Italian
- The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi
Months in Italian
Did you know that the names of most months in English stem from their original names in Latin? And as the Italian language itself also derives from Latin, you will spot a resemblance between the Italian and English names for the individual months. Maybe not so much in the written form, but if you try to pronounce the months in Italian, you can hear the similarities.
| English | Italian | |
| 1. | January | Gennaio |
| 2. | February | Febbraio |
| 3. | March | Marzo |
| 4. | April | Aprile |
| 5. | May | Maggio |
| 6. | June | Giugno |
| 7. | July | Luglio |
| 8. | August | Agosto |
| 9. | September | Settembre |
| 10. | October | Ottobre |
| 11. | November | Novembre |
| 12. | December | Dicembre |
Seasons in Italian
| English | Italian |
| Spring | Primavera |
| Summer | Estate |
| Autumn | Autunno |
| Winter | Inverno |
The Italian translation of “the four seasons” is “le quattro stagioni”. So, even if you don’t know Vivaldis concerts, you might know the expression “quattro stagioni” from your favorite pizza restaurant. It’s the name for a pizza with four sections, each of them covered with other toppings representing a different season of the year. There’s usually artichokes for spring, tomatoes with basil representing the summer, mushrooms for autumn, and ham and olives on the section for winter.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels
Dates in Italian
While we are at it, we might also throw in some more vocabulary related to dates in Italian.
| English | Italian |
| Day | Giorno |
| Weekday | Giorno feriale |
| Week | Settimana |
| Month | Mese |
| Year | Anno |
| Leap year | Anno bisestile |
| Decade | Decennio |
| Century | Secolo |
| Millennium | Millennium |
Holidays in Italian
The catholic faith is the predominant religion in Italy. 80% of Italians are catholic. So many of the holidays in Italy are related to the church. But there are also other official holidays, like the “Anniversario della liberazione d’Italia”. On this day Italy remembers the liberation of the country from the German occupation at the end of the Second World War.
| Date | English | Italian |
|---|---|---|
| 01. Jan | New Year | Capodanno |
| 06. Jan | Epiphany | Epifania |
| – | Easter | Pasqua |
| – | Good Friday | Venerdì Santo |
| – | Easter Sunday | Domenica di Pasqua |
| – | Easter Monday | Lunedì di Pasqua |
| 25. Apr | Liberation Day | Anniversario della liberazione d’Italia |
| 01. May | Labour Day | Festa del Lavoro |
| 02. Jun | Republic Day | Festa della Repubblica |
| – | Whitsun | Pentecoste |
| 15. Aug | Assumption of Mary | Assunzione di Maria |
| 01. Nov | All Saints’ Day | Ognissanti |
| 08. Dec | Immaculate Conception | Immacolata Concezione |
| 24.-26. Dec | Christmas | Natale |
| 24. Dec | Christmas Eve | Vigilia di Natale |
| 25. Dec | Christmas Day | Il giorno di Natale |
| 26. Dec | Boxing Day | Giorno di Santo Stefano |
The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi
And last but not least, here are the links to the Four Seasons videos I promised. Probably the best known is the Spring concert. And I’m not ashamed to confess, it’s also my favorite! 😉 Enjoy!
