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View of the moon from my room in Rome

Today is Friday the 13th and for most people that is a most ominous day however, for me, the idea of the 13th has never been a superstitious one for me. Maybe it’s because I’m part Italian. Italians, while insanely superstitious, actually consider 13 a lucky number. They are absolutely terrified of the number 17 however, and you almost never find that number used. You can bet that if they ever build buildings that high they will skip the 17th floor.

Italians have a lot of strange superstitions and I encountered many of them daily while living in Rome. One of the most ancient superstitions is the wearing of a chili pepper in order to ward off evil. Back in the ancient roman times they wouldn’t wear chili peppers though, instead the would wear phalluses or display them prominently outside their homes to ward off the evil eye. The phallus was supposed to give fertility and luck to the wearer while also keeping the evil eye at bay. Eventually the phallic symbol evolved into the chili pepper since once the Catholic Church came to power it was deemed unseemly to wear such graphic symbols around one’s neck. You can see most Italians carry some sort of chili pepper or horn to ward off evil. All the Italians I knew had them on key chains or hanging from their rear view mirror.

A typical Roman car where you could find some chili peppers hanging from the rear view mirror

Many superstitions have to do with warding off evil and are religious based. Italians will make the sign of the horns with their fingers to ward off the evil eye or the devil or both. The sign looks exactly like the Texas longhorns sign if you know American college football. Often times you will see this sign being made surreptitiously to ward off evil in public. Italians also believe that touching iron is lucky and often carry around a small nail to touch in case anything causes them bad luck, like black cats. This is definitely an issue while in Rome since there are so many cats.

While the Romans may be afraid of black cats, Alex on the other hand makes friends with them

I also like black kitties too

Italians also avoid seating 13 people at a table. They have no problem with the number 13 except in this context. 13 people is an unlucky number to have seated together because the Last Supper had thirteen people seated around a table and we all know how well that worked out for Jesus.

Poor Jesus had 13 people at his dinner table and it didn’t work out too well for him

Perhaps the most common superstitions I encountered had to do with the weather or more specifically the air. Italians are terrified of the air. If there is a light breeze in 90• weather they automatically put on a sweater. If the air conditioning is on at a restaurant they open the door. If you want to get out of doing something all you have to say is you don’t feel well because of l’aria (the air) and it may cause a febbre (a fever). It works like a charm, I promise.

This is the type of l’aria the Romans dread. When it snowed nobody went outside for a week at least.

One of my favorite superstitions has to do with Mount Vesuvius. It is claimed that mount Vesuvius will not erupt as long as a miracle occurs twice a year. The miracle is that at the church of San Gennaro there is a vial of Saint Jennarius’ blood. Twice a year, once in May and once in September, the vial miraculously changes from a solid to a liquid. When this occurs it means that Mount Vesuvius will not erupt and no harm will befall Naples.

Snow covered Mount Vesuvius is safe for another year since San Gennaro’s blood turned back to a liquid in September

These are just a few of the superstitions I encountered while in Italy. There are thousands of them and some are very regional while some, almost everyone believes in such as spilling salt spells bad luck and that to ensure good luck you must keep eye contact with those you are cheers-ing. Overall though the Italians are some of the most superstitious people I’ve met and I will be thinking of them on this lucky Friday the 13th.

Italians may be superstitious but they still lay claim to the Colosseum so I’ll be back

If you enjoyed this post on Italy check out some of our other awesome articles on the Boot:

Hadrian – Bad Ass Architect
Greek and Egyptian Elements reflect Hadrian’s travels at his Villa in Tivoli

5 Reasons Why I Love Pompeii
The Men’s Locker Room in the baths at Pompeii

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Alex and Ashley

We are Ashley and Alex and we're foodies and boozies who eat, drink and live local. Our goal is to scour the globe looking for inside local tips, the best places to eat and the best places to drink with the locals. We are also authors of a culinary guidebook, "Eat Local in Barcelona: A Guide to Catalan Cuisine." This guidebook is all about learning how what and where to eat and drink local in Barcelona. Follow along with our adventures, so that you too can eat, drink and live local!