We went to a Carnevale celebration in a local Naples-area town called Saviano last weekend to see what all the Carnevale excitement is about. Carnevale is a big deal around here, with different kinds of celebrations in just about every town, Italian schools out, and costumes and parties everywhere. We got there early at 2:30pm with very few people on the streets, and when we left at 5pm we were enveloped by throngs of people. As we left, we passed many more people flowing into the festival for the real party (at night). We are baby-stepping our way to tolerating such large throngs of people. Italians seem to love the energy and fun of being all packed in together! While we were there, we saw dancing and music, giant moving floats, confetti (coriandoli in italian) being thrown everywhere, and all kinds of cool masks and costumes. I think it’s better than Halloween (but without free candy).
You can see that even though we were sweating in the 65 degree afternoon, we are almost the only ones wearing short sleeves! Silly Americans are always walking around in shorts and sandals when Italians are still wearing winter coats!
More about Carnevale: Carnevale in Italy, known in the US as carnival or mardi gras, takes place in the weeks leading up to Easter. Think of Carnevale in Italy as a big final party before Ash Wednesday, the restrictions of Lent and the more pious observances at Easter. Italy celebrates Carnevale with a huge winter festival marked by parades, masquerade balls, entertainment, music, and parties. Children throw confetti at each other, and sometimes flour and raw eggs! Mischief and pranks are common during Carnevale in Italy, hence the saying “a Carnevale ogni scherzo vale” (anything goes at Carnevale). That is from https://www.tripsavvy.com/carnevale-celebration-in-italy-4582234, and there is a list of different Italian Carnevale in this link.
In fact, in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, the Carnival takes place between the day of Epiphany (January 6th) and Lent. From a festival characterized by an excessive enjoyment of food, drink and sensual pleasures, granted to the lower classes as a temporary transgression of social norms, over the centuries and in different geographical areas Carnival has been enhanced and rehashed with new and diverse nuances.In Italy carnivals find their foundations in ancient traditions, and they are well-known on an international level, drawing thousands of visitors from around the world annually. It is worth doing a little tour of Italian carnivals in February to attend at least the most famous ones. That is from http://www.italia.it/en/travel-ideas/culture-and-entertainment/february-the-month-of-carnival.html.
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Wow,that looks fun!