A touch of Italy in the Blue Mountains

Silvana Franze
Jul 17
3 min read

Winter in the Blue Mountains is a very special time of the year. It's when the big venues hold Yuletide or Xmas in July. In years past, it was also when the Winter Magic Festival was held, drawing thousands out of their cozy homes to rug up and happily line the main street of Katoomba for an extraordinary day of festivities.

When I first experienced Winter Magic, it reminded me of another large and colourful festival on the other side of the world – Italy's Ferragosto – the national holiday when people flock to the coast and mountains to celebrate time out with good friends and abundant food.

Originally established by Emperor Augustus on August 1st as a day of rest for those working on the land, the Roman Church moved the date to August 15 to coincide with the Assumption of Mary, mother of Jesus, making it a religious festival. Mussolini thought the Festa could be an opportunity to give the lower classes time to visit cultural sites or get to the seaside. And so he created “holiday trains", giving people a three day escape from August 14 to 16. As food and board were not included, people naturally packed a lot of food to sustain them during this well deserved break. I like the sound of that!

These days, the festival has morphed into families gathering around the table with, yes, lots of food, usually alfresco, and always with many friends invited. And if you happen to visit any of the small villages in the morning, away from the usual tourist destinations, you are privileged to witness long processions of people walking through the streets, following behind a giant size statue of the Virgin Mary.

I was one of the lucky ones who got to experience this at the age of ten, when my mother took me and my baby sister to visit her parents in Calabria. For a young child, this left an impression on my memory – it did seem like a rather magical world. Fast forward to my 30s, I felt this same sense of awe and wonder at Winter Magic.

The beauty of this (and many other religious festivals in Italy) is the multi generational turnout. All ages from babies to 90+ can be seen strolling behind the statue, with a big band leading the way in front. Then it's off to someone's house for lunch for a day of delicious food, good company, laughter and music. With everyone in the family getting involved in some way.

This year, we once again welcome you to join our own celebration of Italy’s biggest cultural festa, in Katoomba!

Gather together in our dining space, where over the course of four hours, we will serve dishes cooked in our traditional southern Italian ways, typical to this particular festival. After lunch, enjoy the views to the Blue Mountains National Reserve. And maybe have a dance to Italian folk music!

Numbers are limited so please send us your Expression of Interest and your preferred date to attend: Choose from Sunday 17 August or Saturday 13th September.

See the full five course menu below.

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