A medieval tradition is alive and well in Urbania (town about 50 kms inland from us). The weather for the coming year is indicated by an onion. On the night of the 24th January (Eve of the “conversion of St Paul) an onion is cut into 12 parts (one for each month) and sprinkled with salt. They are left outside and the following morning any changes to the salt on the onion pieces are noted and a forecast made for the coming year e.g. if the salt has dissolved it means rain. (Emmanuela Forlini is the expert forecaster. She learnt from her father who learnt from his father a farmer). Fortunately another expert in Jesi (about 50 kms south of us) does his onion reading on January 1 and for this year provides a more promising view of the year ahead at least for the Summer.
| Month | Urbania | Jesi |
| Jan. | wet | cold and wet |
| Feb. | very cold, snow | cold, wet with snow |
| Mar. | rain and snow particularly mid-March | cold in early march but warm and sunny in the second half of the month |
| Apr | rain and some snow | cold and wet in middle of month, improving towards the end |
| May | increasing temperatures but still some rain | rain and wind early May; sun and rain in second half |
| Jun. | very variable with some rain | hot and sunny. Humid in the middle of the month |
| Jul. | same as June | same as June |
| Aug. | beautiful weather, some humidity | same as June; some hail storms |
| Sep. | frequent rain storms | warm, beautiful weather; some rainstorms in the middle of the month |
| Oct. | dry and pleasant | warm in early October; first cold spells in the middle of the month |
| Nov. | dry and pleasant | rainy and cold |
| Dec. | dry but cold and sunny | rain, some snow |