Carnival is the period which precedes the Quaresima (Lent).

The beginning day can change, but the celebrations take place in the days before Mercoledì delle Ceneri (Ash Wednesday) i.e. from Thursday to Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday).   Carnival is a feast for many parts of the world. In Italy the most famous are those celebrated in Venice , Viareggio , Ivrea  and Sanremo. Carnival is represented by a man in the street or by a puppet, this is made  with straw and grass and surrounded of banger, and finally he is burnt at a stake in doing so, the evil Lent disappears. In the various Italian regions, Carnival had different names. In Sicily it was called “NANNU”.  Today, this period is dedicated to amusement and to masked parties, called “Veglione di Carnevale” (Carnival Party). Men, women and children disguised by cartoon personages, princess, riders, mad scientists…The children during the party amuse themselves by pulling themselves confetti and falling stars and coloured bubbles. But the most important Carnevalesque figures are: Harlequin (a Venetian masque of the 500s) and Punch(a Neapolitan masque). The legend tells that Harlequin was an ignorant and buffoon servant but had lots of astuteness. The Harlequin’s mum didn’t have much money so she sowed him a cloth with different pieces of coloured cloth. In fact, the Harlequin’s masque is represented by a cloth with a lot of patches. Punch instead, is a Neapolitan usher with a hooked nose and a double hump, who represents the lazy and cunning common person, but wise. He wears a long, white work-shirt, a white cone-shaped cap and a small black masque. The typical carnival sweet in Sicily is “LA CHIACCHERA”, made of pastry strips rolled up like ribbons, they are fried and dusted with vanilla sugar. However, Carnival is a feast which puts grown-ups, children and teenagers together because with a masque on their faces, everybody is identical. Carnival means having a good time, amusements, in the Carnival period there are no prohibitions.

In fact: “WHEN IT’S CARNIVAL TIME,ANYTHING GOES!”

Corso L