CARNEVALE IN ITALY
CARNEVALE IN ITALY
The annual carnevale celebrations in Italy take place 40 days before Easter and are celebrated across the whole country. Our guide explains the culture of carnevale and includes dates from 2015 - 2020.
Carnevale is a festival that takes place throughout Italy 40 days before Easter. In other parts of the world the same day is known as Mardi Gras such as in the United States or Shrove Tuesday in the United Kingdom. In all cases however, it's the day before Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of lent and (traditionally at least), 40 days of fasting and penance before the Easter celebrations.
The official 2016 date for carnevale is Sunday February 7th but celebrations tend to begin prematurely the Sunday before when young children dress up in all kinds of weird and wonderful fancy dress costumes including super-heroes such as batman & spiderman or famous characters from history such as the Neapolitan favourite, Pulcinella. Walking around any major Italian city during this time you will see confetti strewn streets as young people mark the occasion by throwing the colourful bits of paper at each other, while there are others that go a step further and launch that most lethal combination of eggs followed by flour at unsuspecting friends and family!
On the day of Carnevale itself there are parades in every region of Italy and in each of its cities with some of the most notable events taking place in Putignano, Ivrea, Acireale and Viareggio. Without doubt the most famous Carnevale parade takes place in Venice where the famous masks are as much a symbol of the city as its gondolas or the Rialto Bridge. In fact masks are a central theme in all of the parades and celebrations, coming in a wide range of styles, shapes and sizes.
Alongside the fancy-dress and the masks are the processions themselves which resemble those seen in other countries where extravagantly designed floats file along the packed streets, sporting a variety of humorous themes which can be politically or religiously based or in many cases simply aimed at creating a colourful and fun spectacle to entertain the crowds.
Being Italy there are obviously certain foods that are traditionally eaten during carnevale such as the sweet, cracker-like biscuits known as "Chiacchiere" ("chats" in English), lasagna, meatballs and "castagnole" which are a type of doughnut.
Traditional Carnevale Lunch menu in Ischia:
Primo Piatto: Lasagna
Secondo: Polpette con sugo (meatballs in a tomato sauce)
Dolce: Chiacchiere or castagnole
On the island of Ischia the largest parade takes place in Forio where the townsfolk dress up in their carefully designed costumes for the afternoon parade before continuing the celebrations at Piazza degli Eroi in Ischia Porto. On the morning of carnevale Ischia's school children go to parties dressed in their costumes where they then play games and enjoy party food while in the evening the adults also dress up and go to night-clubs or have parties at home.
Carnevale dates 2016 - 2020:
2016 - Tuesday February 9th
2017 - Tuesday February 28th
2018 - Tuesday February 13th
2019 - Tuesday March 5th
2020 - Tuesday February 25th
By Dion Protani on Sunday 15th February 2015 (updated Tuesday January 26th 2016)
Ischia Review
[email protected]
The official 2016 date for carnevale is Sunday February 7th but celebrations tend to begin prematurely the Sunday before when young children dress up in all kinds of weird and wonderful fancy dress costumes including super-heroes such as batman & spiderman or famous characters from history such as the Neapolitan favourite, Pulcinella. Walking around any major Italian city during this time you will see confetti strewn streets as young people mark the occasion by throwing the colourful bits of paper at each other, while there are others that go a step further and launch that most lethal combination of eggs followed by flour at unsuspecting friends and family!
On the day of Carnevale itself there are parades in every region of Italy and in each of its cities with some of the most notable events taking place in Putignano, Ivrea, Acireale and Viareggio. Without doubt the most famous Carnevale parade takes place in Venice where the famous masks are as much a symbol of the city as its gondolas or the Rialto Bridge. In fact masks are a central theme in all of the parades and celebrations, coming in a wide range of styles, shapes and sizes.
Alongside the fancy-dress and the masks are the processions themselves which resemble those seen in other countries where extravagantly designed floats file along the packed streets, sporting a variety of humorous themes which can be politically or religiously based or in many cases simply aimed at creating a colourful and fun spectacle to entertain the crowds.
Being Italy there are obviously certain foods that are traditionally eaten during carnevale such as the sweet, cracker-like biscuits known as "Chiacchiere" ("chats" in English), lasagna, meatballs and "castagnole" which are a type of doughnut.
Traditional Carnevale Lunch menu in Ischia:
Primo Piatto: Lasagna
Secondo: Polpette con sugo (meatballs in a tomato sauce)
Dolce: Chiacchiere or castagnole
On the island of Ischia the largest parade takes place in Forio where the townsfolk dress up in their carefully designed costumes for the afternoon parade before continuing the celebrations at Piazza degli Eroi in Ischia Porto. On the morning of carnevale Ischia's school children go to parties dressed in their costumes where they then play games and enjoy party food while in the evening the adults also dress up and go to night-clubs or have parties at home.
Carnevale dates 2016 - 2020:
2016 - Tuesday February 9th
2017 - Tuesday February 28th
2018 - Tuesday February 13th
2019 - Tuesday March 5th
2020 - Tuesday February 25th
By Dion Protani on Sunday 15th February 2015 (updated Tuesday January 26th 2016)
Ischia Review
[email protected]
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