Origins and meaning of Pesce d’aprile.
Italy, like many countries around the world, marks 1 April with harmless pranks for April Fools’ Day, or Pesce d’aprile, which translates as April’s Fish.
The symbol of the fish is believed to refer to the victim falling easily for the bait – in this case the joke – making them an easy catch for the joker.
The exact origins of this custom are somewhat murky, with some people linking it to the ancient Roman festival of Hilaria which involved jesting and playful pranks.
Cleopatra and Mark Antony
According to legend, the first to play a prank with a fish as the protagonist was the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, who challenged the Roman leader Mark Antony to a fishing contest.
Terrified by the idea of losing to a woman, he asked a slave to secretly put a fish on his hook.
Cleopatra, however, became aware of the ruse and tricked him by having a huge fake fish covered in crocodile skin placed on his hook.
Gregorian Calendar
April Fool’s Day did not become a custom in Europe until after 1582, the year the Gregorian Calendar went into effect following a papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII.
Among the first countries to immediately accept the new calendar was France, where some historians trace the origins of April Fool’s Day.
Until then, New Year’s Eve was celebrated between 25 March (the old date of the spring equinox) and 1 April.
Not all French people accepted the change and continued to exchange gifts and celebrate as in the old days.
Others, to poke fun at them, gave them absurd or empty gifts containing only a piece of paper with the words poisson d’Avril (April Fools in French) or invitations to non-existent parties.
In 1957 the BBC famously fooled viewers with #AprilFoolsDay footage of a spaghetti harvest.pic.twitter.com/Tfiuxlc1g9— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) April 1, 2025
In Italy, however, April Fools’ Day arrived only between 1860 and 1880.
The first city to celebrate it was Genoa, with a common prank involving sticking a paper fish to someone’s back – a tradition that continues in Italy to this day.
Spaghetti harvest
One of the most famous April Fool’s Day pranks ever involves Italy and dates to 1957.
After the BBC broadcast a Panorama report purportedly showing a “spaghetti harvest” in Switzerland, many viewers called in to find out how to grow a pasta tree in their own garden.
