Autumn in Italian culture: poetry and etymology

The poet Trilussa, pseudonym of Carlo Alberto Salustri, uses the imagery of autumn in his 1923 poem ‘Autunno’ to reflect on the transient nature of love. By observing yellow leaves being swept through the streets of Rome, the work serves as a metaphor for how time erases memories and how even seemingly eternal passions eventually fade.

Contrasting the melancholic literary view of the season, the etymology of the word ‘autunno’ reveals a different perspective. Derived from the Latin ‘autumnus’, the term is linked to the verb ‘augere’, meaning to increase, enrich, or develop. This suggests that the season historically represented a period of abundance and fulfillment rather than mere decline.