{"id":703,"date":"2011-11-08T15:33:51","date_gmt":"2011-11-08T15:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/?p=703"},"modified":"2018-04-11T15:31:50","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T15:31:50","slug":"italy-and-the-watermelon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/index.php\/2011\/11\/italy-and-the-watermelon\/","title":{"rendered":"ITALY AND THE WATERMELON"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Italians are intensely proud of their heritage. If you don\u2019t believe me, pay a visit to any local pizza shop, and I\u2019ll bet you two slices of pepperoni with extra cheese that the walls will be adorned with all sorts of photos, maps and other reminders of the homeland. And why shouldn\u2019t Italians be proud? Italy is awesome (a fact I learned from a series of very brief stays in the country back in my Navy days).<\/p>\n

One of the most common ways that Italians show their pride is by wearing or displaying the national colors (red, white and green). National pride might also explain why the similarly colored watermelon is so popular in Italy and why it\u2019s not uncommon to see street vendors selling wedges of watermelon during festivals and other celebrations.<\/p>\n

Watermelon also plays a key role in many Italian holidays. During Assumption Day<\/a> \u2013 a major religious holiday observed throughout Italy (and many other nations) \u2013 a watermelon feast<\/a> is held in Venice to help \u201ckeep community ties.\u201d In the Italian city of Villa Lagarina, legend has it<\/a> that when a truckload of watermelon arrived in the 1920s, the townsfolk were astonished by the newfound fruit and placed the bounty in the fountain at the center of town. The tradition continues to this day (see image above) with the \u201cwatermelon fountain\u201d being filled each year during the three-day celebration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Italians are intensely proud of their heritage. If you don\u2019t believe me, pay a visit to any local pizza shop, and I\u2019ll bet you two slices of pepperoni with extra cheese that the walls will be adorned with all sorts of photos, maps and other reminders of the homeland. And why shouldn\u2019t Italians be proud? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-703","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nITALY AND THE WATERMELON - What About Watermelon?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/index.php\/2011\/11\/italy-and-the-watermelon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ITALY AND THE WATERMELON - What About Watermelon?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Italians are intensely proud of their heritage. 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