Italian summers are a long build-up to the 15th August, or ferragosto as we call it here. It’s a religious bank holiday, celebrating the Assumption of Mary. Everyone’s holidays tend to be centred around ferragosto, and it’s definitely the busiest time on Tremiti.

There are always special celebrations on this date, every year. This year the island started the day with a marching band parading in the streets, stopping off here and there with their happy music! they were very good, too. Restaurants and hotels are organising special meals and deals; there’s the traditional procession and mass celebrated on the sea in boats, then stalls in the main square, and fireworks at midnight lit from the Cretaccio.

If it doesn’t rain.

Because of course with a whole rainless summer there had to be a storm on the bank holiday! we were all woken up with rolls of thunder and torrential rain – for which I must say I was very grateful because it’s been terribly hot lately and this will do the plants some good. Then, as often happens, the clouds broke up and we had beach weather again.

I cannot stress this enough: there is no weather station on the islands, and the closest one is on the mainland – but Tremiti are a microcosm of their own, and the weather on the Gargano or in Termoli does not necessarily behave the way it does on the islands. While on the mainland it’s been raining all day today, we have had our rainy spell in the early hours, and after that people were going to the sea. We may get the odd moment when it’s overcast, and we can hear the rumble of storms in the distance, but more often than not we are not affected by it.

So if you are booked to come to Tremiti and you see an unconvincing weather forecast, do not be put off because on the islands we may be in a warm bubble of sunshine while the Gargano is stormy!

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