At the start of November, the church calendar has a date for commemorating the dead, a time which – as in many other catholic regions but also in other cultures where the dead are commemorated at different times – still carries a deep significance in Ticino for social contact and interaction. Besides All Soul’s Day, which involves liturgical celebrations and decorating grave sites, 1 and 2 November is a time for individual and collective visits to the resting places of deceased relatives. There is no specific format as such, it’s more about people and families coming together, even travelling from other countries, so they can visit the graves of relatives or other members of the local community.
These traditions are a valuable occasion for people to meet and revive personal and community ties at a local and regional level, through a transversal and intergenerational tradition. In the past these anniversaries featured different customs, most of which have disappeared over time; although some of them remain, notably the preparation of the special biscuits called “ossi da morto” (bones of the dead or bones to chew) and “pane dei morti” (bread of the dead) from neighbouring Lombardy.
