April

Love, beauty and the opening of spring

April is connected to Aphrodite, called Venus by the Romans, and to the Latin verb aperire, “to open”: Aprilis is the month when spring arrives and flowers open their blooms. Ancient springtime celebrations in her honour were held in April.

Aphrodite/Venus stood for femininity, beauty and love, fertility, peace and victory. Like Mars, she was a mythological ancestor of Rome, which ties conflict, love and war together in the city’s heritage.