November, or novembre in Italian, is the month that heralds the arrival of winter in Italy, although it doesn’t officially start until December. Despite the days being short and the weather variable, it is a wonderful time to visit Italy due to fewer crowds and the spectacular autumn (autunno) landscapes. And let’s not forget that it is also much cheaper to visit at this time of year!
Novembre is the eleventh month (undicesimo mese) of the year according to the Julian and Gregorian calendars and it consists of 30 days (trenta giorni). As is the case with all months of the year, novembre isn’t capitalised in Italian as it is in English.
Oggi è il primo di novembre.
Today is the first of November.
It derives from the Latin novem meaning nove (nine) because originally it was the ninth month of the Roman year.
The star sign (segno zodiacale) for those born in novembre is either Scorpione (Scorpion) if you were born between November 1st and November 22nd or Sagittario (Sagittarius) if you were born after the 22nd.
The first of November is known as Tutti i Santi (All Saints’ Day) or Ognissanti in Italian. It is a Christian festival that celebrates the glory and honour of all the saints, including those not canonised. In Italy, it is tradition to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
