Midsummer rituals

Magical water, walnut liqueur and bonfires

“Hai fatto l’acqua?” Have you made the water? asked one of my neighbours — it was Friday, the 23rd of June, the day before San Giovanni (St John the Baptist’s feast day), so of course I knew what she meant. She was referring to l’acqua di San Giovanni, or St John’s water, one of the many folkloric rituals that continue to be an important marker of the T…