Friday, January 23, 2009

Carnevale in Southern Italy and Sicily

Mardi Gras, Carnival, or Carnevale as it is called in Italy, is that last fling (or flings!) before lent, those 40 days of fasting, which commemorate the Passion of Jesus. Venice is the Queen of the Carnevale celebrations in Italy, but that doesn’t mean other Italian towns don't give the sinking Signora a run for her euro. Although to be honest, I find the smaller (under the radar) towns provide a more intimate setting and are far easier to navigate, especially if you are with young children!

Carnevale Vocabulary
· il carro — float
· la cartapesta — papier–mâché
· le Ceneri — ashes (Ash Wednesday)
· i coriandoli — confetti (colored paper disks) thrown during parades
· Martedì Grasso — Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday
· la maschera — mask
· la Quaresima — Lent
· la sfilata — parade

Carnevale Celebrations in Southern Italy and Sicily

Disclaimer: The following is the most comprehensive list of Carnevale celebrations in southern Italy I was able to pull together. As you are by now well aware, it can be difficult to come by complete and accurate information for any event in Italy! Therefore, if you know of another town hosting Carnevale this year that is not on the list, please add it to the comments with either a link or such relevant information as dates & times, etc.—Thanks!

Apulia
Basilicata
Campania

Calabria

Sicily
  • Acireale (Catania) Dates: Feb 7-8, Feb 14-15, Feb 19-24
  • Misterbianco (Catania) Dates: Feb 15- 24 (*Site now current for 2009!)
  • Sciacca (Agrigento) Dates: Feb 19-24



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11 comments:

Scintilla said...

What did the above mean???

Those cappuccinos are cute!
Positano has it's own 'sfilata' of homemade costumes and barges decorated by locals having a different theme each year. It starts at the top at Chiesa Nuova then runs through the only road in town. The official date hasn't been given yet - I'll let you know.

Michelle said...

Thanks for the information! BTW...2009 Carnevale in Misterbianco takes place from February 19-24

South of Rome said...

Thanks for the updates!! I'll add them now ;)

South of Rome said...

Scintilla- I have no idea!! So I erased it ;)

Party of Three said...

You, my dear, are awesome and have just saved me a great deal of time. I was prepared to "do my research" this weekend. Thanks for the info.

Party of Three said...

I spoke too soon. . . without really reading the post. . .after only a glance. (I seem to live life a lot with glances and gleens.) Hopefully it'll be easy to find the same info for the North. Have you been to Via Reggio for Carnevale?

South of Rome said...

Party of Three, I just tried to leave you a comment on you blog, but it wouldn't go!! I'm laughing b/c I was so excited you were coming SOUTH! Hah!!

Guess you'll have to do the Northern version and we can link to eachother ;)

Anonymous said...

If you like southern Italian folk music you should consider Carnevale di Montemarano, in the province of Avellino. Do a google search or check out youtube videos.

Michelle Beathard said...

Have you been to any of the three Carnevale celebrations here in Sicily? My husband and I are talking about going to one of them this weekend, but aren't sure which. Any recommendations? Also, any tips regarding parking, etc., would be greatly appreciated.

South of Rome said...

Hey Michelle, I wish I could give you better info, but when we went to the Acireale Carnevale we went very early in the day. We found parking in town but a gal actually ended up rolling into us! (She apparently didn't know how to drive a standard transmission. We actually watched her car roll right into ours!) I think we did pass some large lots on the way into town that were designated for parking. (I think the base may run a trip though??)

We arrived early and took some time to explore the city, peeking into every corner and crevice. We had a great time, but didn't stay very late since my 1 year old was with us. I had heard stories that it gets a bit crazy with the silly string and the bonking with the giant plastic hammers and didn't think my son could handle it ;)

As for the Misterbianco Carnevale, we watched it on TV!

Sorry I'm not of more help!!

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