It’s Italian Carnevale time!

Time To Party

It’s Carnevale time! That special time of celebration before the start of Lent. This year’s festival in Venice is virtual, but luckily our dear GATHER girl Cuckie was there for the party last year just before the onset of the COVID-19. This year she’s celebrating on a small scale, with the traditional seasonal foods. If you’re like us and like to create a reason to celebrate as often as possible, join us in making some of these classic Carnevale treats and learn the story behind them. But first, a brief history on where it all came from.

The History

Carnevale (or carnival in English) comes from a Latin phrase meaning “to remove meat”. This term describes the period of revelry between Epiphany and the austere time of Lent where many give up meat and luxuries. This prolonged party has been a tradition for centuries throughout all of Italy but Venice’s carnival is the oldest and largest in the country. The Venetian Carnevale dates back as far as the 15th century and is known for its history of raucous parties, sweet treats, spectacular costumes and masked debauchery (anonymity saves face! ha ha). This was the time for all to beat the winter doldrums, let off some steam and clear out the store cupboards of sugar before the forty days of Lenten strictness.

These days carnival is celebrated in places throughout Christendom with a few variations in the festivities depending on location. Like Brasil and New Orleans, Italy has fantastic parades with huge floats topped with enormous creations in many forms. In Venice, citizens dress up in fantastic costumes that are available at ateliers throughout the city. Children dress up in any number of costumes, just as American kids do for Halloween. Above all, everyone gathers together to eat, drink and be merry.

Source: Carnevale di Venezia via Chasing the Unexpected

FOOD + DRINK

Frittele

The most quintessential of foods during Carnevale are fried sweet dough pastries. In Venetian bakeries during this season you’ll most certainly find frittele. Region by region the name or version of the fried delicacy changes. Throughout Italy you’ll see fritole, frittole, chiachiere, frappe, castagnole (think beignets), etc. Give one of these linked recipes a try?

Venetian spritz

To toast the official start of the Venetian (virtual) Carnevale tomorrow, why not make a Venetian Spritz? The spritz was developed in Veneto which makes it a perfect choice for the occasion. You can try these versions from Conde Nast or Vanity Fair.