The name comes from the Slovene word osem meaning eight. This was the number of days per year that the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria bestowed on the Carsic people in 1784 allowing them to sell their own farm produce from their cellars at home. Harvested produce and animals bred by the families that were surplus to their needs, could be sold on to other families. Ever since then, during the period of osmize, farmers hang a piece of ivy (il frasco) over their front door to show that they welcome visitors, and other branches of ivy along the nearby streets to show them the way to the house.
Both local people and tourists alike love stopping off at these rustic and spartanly furnished cottages to try a glass of wine and some slices of ham, bacon or ossocollo that have been cured using age-old methods passed down from generation to generation.

Point of interest
Nowadays osmize are open for about 30 days. As well as cured meats, wine, pickles and hard boiled eggs, some of them also off er local cakes and pastries such as apple strudel , cooked strucklo and palacinke, or even more diffi cult to prepare savoury dishes like jota or gulasch.