From tomorrow it officially starts the Italian Carnevale, that will go on until March 3rd. But what is the Italian Carnival?
It is an ancient traditional festival that goes on for an entire month right before the Christian Lent. It is celebrated all around Italy and its peculiarity is the tradition to get dressed up. Imagine something like the American Halloween, without the treats or tricks things.
There are many important Carnival festivals in Italy. Probably the most important is the Carnival of Venice, that every year attracts thousand of people because of its magical atmosphere. Then it comes the Carnival of Viareggio in Tuscany.
This Carnival is famous for its parade of floats and masks, depicting the caricatures of popular and famous Italian people. The parade is held on the renowned avenue of the city along the seaside. This year the Carnival of Viareggio will be held on Sunday 5, 12, 19,21 and 29 of February and on Sunday 3rd March. The entrance is on payment and costs 15,00 euro.
Then there is the Carnival of Foiano della Chiana, near Arezzo, that is the oldest carnival in Tuscany. Here the four city boroughs build great and beautiful works of art in papier mache that go around the city on a parade. It also takes place a food festival to taste local products.
Another important Carnival in Tuscany is the Carnival of Castiglion Fibocchi, near Arezzo. The festival is animated by 200 hundreds characters dressed up with great and original costumes and unique masks in papier mache. It takes place on Sunday 5 and 12 February, where there is a beautiful parade.
Last but not least the Carnival in Tuscany means also food. In fact there are several cakes, sweets and biscuits that are cooked just for this occasion. For example in Florence you have to taste the “Schiacciata alla Fiorentina” typical cake with a particular taste of orange, or the “Frittelle di riso” that are kind of fritter mode of fried rice. In the next posts I will give you the recipes to cook this specialties 🙂
Are you going to dress up for Carnival? I decide to dress up my little son as the Little Prince by Saint Exupéry.
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