The religious festival of Carnival or Carnivale as it is known in Italian, is taken rather seriously on the predominantly Catholic peninsula. This occasion of joy and celebration occurs some 40 days before Easter and is seen as a final oppurtunity to cut loose, celebrate and indulge oneself before Lent begins. The 40 days leading up to Easter in which Christians prepare for the crucifixion, death and ressurection of Christ by making personal sacrifices themselves. The event is celebrated in many cities, the most well know of which is Venice.

Carnival, or ‘Carnevale’ in Italian, is a celebration which occurs some 40 days before Easter. It is a final opportunity to eat well and enjoy oneself before the restrictions of Lent take hold, and is celebrated with enthusiasm in many Italian cities, especially Venice. The tradition of getting dressed up at Carnival is one that goes back many year to a time in which the class system played a major role in society. The aim of wearing the disguises and masks in places like Venice for example were so that no one knew who you were and so that people were able to mix freely as identiy and who one was, or more to the point who one wasn’t didn’t play a significant role. The Venetian carnival masks are known as ‘maschere’ and are often handmade and hand painted, they make great souvenirs or gifts.

The main point of Carnival is fun. Children throw confetti in the streets, people play pranks on eachother and tell jokes, colourful parades make their way through the streets, balls take place and the streets are packed out with all sorts of forms of entertatinment, and music, complimented by the great variety of food and drink on offer.
Carnevale is a time when the pressures of everyday life are forgotten in a joyous rush of celebration, where the rules that shape the rest of the year do not necessarily apply. Children throw confetti in the streets, and pranks and jokes are tolerated and expected. Parades, balls and parties of all kinds are packed out, with entertainment and music complementing the food and drink on offer. The Gaudy gondola parades and the masked parades in St. Mark’s Square are the unmissable events of the carnival season. The Cannaregion distric also hosts a special carnival event for children which means that noone is left out of the celebrations.

Venice is not the only Italian city to go wild at this time of year; Viareggio on the Tuscan coast puts on a parade of papiermache floats. Away from the mainland, Oristano on Sardinia add an equestrian theme to the proceedings, with its La Sartigilia festival featuring a horse race and jousting tournament. At Ivrea in Piedmont, festival goers throw oranges at each other in celebration.
The saying ‘A Carnevale Ogni Scherzo Vale’, or ‘anything goes at Carnival’ perhaps best sums up the feeling of liberation and celebration that surrounds this festival. Visitors to Italy at this time of year should be ; they might not want to come home.

picture: Alaskan Dude/ flickr.com

Simply walking around the city and its iconic locations should be enough to get anyone’s romantic juices flowing. While locations such as the Bridge of Sighs and the Piazza San Marco are world famous, one of the most attractive walking routes in Venice is known as the Fondamenta delle Zattere. This route follows the Giudecca Canal, beginning at San Basilio and ending at Punta della Salute. An old customs house can be seen here, and the view, over San Marco bay to San Giorgio island and as far as the Lido, is difficult to beat.

The Bridge of Sighs may sound romantic, and has certainly become so over the years, with its beautiful Baroque decoration and Istrian stone. However, the bridge originally was used to transport prisoners from the Palazzo Ducale, the venue for trials, to the Piombi, Venice’s old prisons. The ‘sighs’ being made by the prisoners were certainly not of a romantic nature!

Venetian food is known for the seasonality of its ingredients, and a dinner for two in the city is something special. While the bacari, or ‘pubs’, offer tapas-like dishes known as ‘cichetti’, usually accompanied with an ‘ombra’, literally a ‘shadow’ but here a small glass of wine. The seafood dishes are superb, and the region is well-known for its risottos. A good place for a coffee break is Caffè Florian, one of Venice’s more famous venues. Located underneath the portico of the new Procuratie, this cafe has been going since 1720, and its interiors are stirring examples of 19th Century luxury.

A great focus for a trip to Venice is a visit to the opera or the ballet. One venue is the Gran Teatro la Fenice, recently reconstructed after a destructive fire. As a way of topping off a romantic weekend away, it is hard to beat.

Picture: gnuckx/ flickr.com

]]> http://www.tourism-italia.com/a-romantic-trip-to-venice/feed/ 0 http://www.tourism-italia.com/new-tourist-attraction-for-florence/ http://www.tourism-italia.com/new-tourist-attraction-for-florence/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:59:20 +0000 admin http://www.tourism-italia.com/?p=272 Florence already has many sights which tourists flock to year upon year, such as Florence Cathedral. However, if Italian art expert Maurizio Seracini is right, there will be one more reason for tourists to visit. According to The Telegraph in the UK, Seracini believes that he may have found the missing The Battle of Anghiari masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci hidden behind The Battle of Marciano in the Chiana Valley by fellow Renaissance artist Giorgio Vasari. Seracini claims that a mini military banner in the fresco saying “Cerca Trova” – seek and you will find – is a clue left behind by Vasari to indicate the presence of da Vinci’s masterpiece beneath his own. And now he has been given permission to use high-tech gadgets to discover whether there is anything beneath the fresco. If his hunch is right and da Vinci’s masterpiece is underneath , then it’s a very exciting discovery and another reason to go to Florence!

]]> http://www.tourism-italia.com/parma-celebrates-verd/feed/ 1 http://www.tourism-italia.com/dont-miss-out/ http://www.tourism-italia.com/dont-miss-out/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 11:02:20 +0000 admin http://www.tourism-italia.com/?p=67 If you having been paying attention recently to the events taking place in Amalfi, then now is the time to. Since May 29th, the Ancient Maritime Republics Regatta has been unfolding in Amalfi. If you have never heard of this regatta before, here’s a quick run-down…. It “is a sporting and historical rievocation under the patronage of the Italian Republic President” and happens every year in a different city, normally in June. Now, it’s not to late to join in the festivities because tomorrow is the last day and they have lots of fun lined up! There is an historical parade at 4.30pm from Atrani, a Marine Republics fashion show at 9pm and the final spectacular, a fireworks show!! I went on Thursday and it was awesome. There was a storytelling show called ‘Le Pirate’ and everyone was enthralled. Just because the Ancient Maritime Republics Regatta has ancient in the title, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s boring!