Added: 11/11/2005 |
Back to Medieval traditions and Italian carnival masksThe carnivals are satirical and make fun of politicians and religion - the two most frustrating areas of life for Italians. There are also some "serious" carnivals, based on historical themes and full of medieval costumes and jousting knights. "Eating" carnivals gather people in the main squares where they cook lots of goodies. Then, there are more artistic carnivals, like the one in Venice - which is the most famous of all Italian carnivals.
Venice... During the carnival, the city changes into a huge stage, populated by masquerade masks of every type, full of visitors from all parts of the world. Every street and alleyway swarms with people and about all you can do is let yourself be swept along by the crowd. Even in the tiniest squares there is some sort of show going on - costume plays, music, acrobatics, etc. One of the high points is a floating parade of Italian carnival masks along the canals, crowned at night with fireworks. The carnival lasts only for a week and the whole city becomes one big, fun party -- and at the same time it is a real mess. The poor Venetians are probably thinking "If we only knew!"
Italian carnival masks are very creative, often very refined and elegant. Some are based on old costumes from the eighteenth century; the others are fanciful, depicting the sun and moon, for instance, or beautiful creatures and bizarre characters out of your best and worst dreams. Historically, Italian carnival masks have always been used by Venetians, who did not want to be recognized, like courtesans, debtors, robbers - the usual suspects. Many laws were created over the years to forbid the use of Italian carnival masks, even as far back as the thirteenth century, but the laws always failed, probably, since the politicians and lawmakers were the worst offenders of all.
Traditionally, the celebration started with a tightrope walker, walking a stretched rope from the bell tower of San Marcos to the Basilica. However, today, they only use a dove, made of paper mache, perhaps due to the reason that too many carnivals started with a bit of a downer, when the guy fell off the rope, or the downer was when he did not fall off. Either way, the Italians do not mind being frustrated, thus, there is no doubt that at some point they found it less troubling to have something pretty, like the paper mache dove.
In Sardinia, there is a very solemn carnival, full of medieval costumes and rituals. The original traditions of the Sardinian Carnival are adhered particularly strongly in the mountainous regions. In Barbagia, il Carnevale Barbaricino is intimately related to the everyday lives of the region's farmers and shepherds. Wild characters, wearing ferocious masks, enact a dramatic, pitched battle between human beings and natural forces, known as "driving out winter". The Sartiglia in Oristano is a colorful horseback riding event that takes place during the Carnival. Masked horsemen must pierce an iron star at a gallop with their drawn sword, and the more times they can accomplish it, the better, as it is believed, the fate of the town hinges on the rider's skill.
The most famous food carnival is in Verona and it is called "Vernerdi gnocolar" - The Fat Friday Gnocchi Cook-Off. On Fat Friday, every family in Verona eats a lot of gnocchi (potato dumplings) and they all become a little fatter. The tradition goes back to the first half of the fifteen hundreds and started with a Veronese doctor, who gave food away to the poor people once a year during the carnival. When he died, he asked in his will for the distribution of food to be continued on the same day each year. A good idea got better, consequently, today there is a nice parade, celebrating Father Gnocco, who is dressed in a costume with a gigantic stomach and he holds a huge fork, spearing a huge gnocco. The parade ends in a square, where there is a lot of gnocchi to be eaten.
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