Aha! Ashley and anyone else who was on the case with me may be interested to know that “Vigilia di Pasqua” (Easter Eve) is what you call the day between venerdí Santo (Good Friday, literally Holy Friday) and Pasqua (Easter).
Thanks, Diane Hale. If you want to read a little more about Easter in Italy, her article is a great resource.
Most interesting to me is the Italian word for Passover (“Jewish Easter” more or less, and the origin of the Easter celebration – the liberation of Egyptian slaves; Easter was later paired with the celebration of the Christian resurrection story.
