Happy April Fools Day, or as it is known in Italian, Il Pesce d’Aprile. Italians, like Americans, have the custom of playing tricks on each other just for the pure joy of doing so.
The earliest recorded April Fools prank in Italy occurred in the 13th century by Signore Buoncompagno who promised to fly over the city of Bologna in his home-made aircraft, which of course didn’t happen. He managed to prank the whole town!
This custom picked up some support in the 16th century, but only became popular throughout all of Italy between 1860 and 1880. April Fools Day was especially popular in Genoa, particularly among the upper classes who could afford to play elaborate jokes on their friends.
The name “Il Pesce d’Aprile” translates as “The Fish of April”, which is linked to the zodiac sign of Pisces and to the first day of the ocean fishing season in Italy. One source said that any fishermen who came home empty-handed on April 1st would be publicly ridiculed and people would play tricks on them. Today, Italian children enjoy taping a paper fish on their friend’s back when nobody is looking.
In Naples, fishermen were warned never to fish on April 1st or a mermaid named Partenope would turn them into a fish. Even after the legend of the mermaid faded away, chocolate fish were given to fishermen and their families on that day to compensate for the fish they couldn’t catch.
In modern times, the media has taken over the role of playing tricks on the public. For example, in 2001, the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, reported that huge worms existed on Mars and they had somehow left their Martian traces on our planet. Today, television, radio, and the internet all join in the fun of reporting disastrous or ridiculous events and then claiming the stories as fake news.
Although I found numerous and even conflicting stories about the history of April Fools Day in Italy, the idea of having a good laugh remained constant throughout its history. Whether you put salt in the sugar bowl or taped a funny sign to someone’s back, I hope you had a very happy April Fools Day!
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Submitted by Charlene Pardo