John D. Calandra Italian American Institute: Community Affairs

Carnevale:

The Italian Pre-Lenten Festival

Fun Activities for the Home or Classroom

Carnevale is the traditional pre-Lenten celebration in Italy. This is a time of merry-making, masquerade processions, masked balls, parades, pageants, jugglers, magicians, stilt walkers, elegant costumes and opulent masks, singing and dancing, fireworks, and outdoor feasts in the weeks prior to Ash Wednesday. Carnevale is a time of indulgence (and the last chance to eat meat) before Ash Wednesday which signals the penance and fasting of Lent. During carnevale anything goes, as revelers play out a reversal of roles, where slave and master, men and women, nobility and commoners, change places.

* A carnevale ogni scherzo vale *

Carnevale occurs all throughout Italy, where every city, town, and village celebrates its own traditional customs. Places such as Viareggio, Ivrea, Sciacca, Napoli, Roma, Calabria and Venezia have unique and elaborate celebrations that are world-famous.

The festivities of the last days of carnevale are the most intense as they culminate on Martedí Grasso (otherwise known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday). Bonfires burn all over Italy on Martedí Grasso as a doll representing the King of Carnival (Re Carnevale) is ceremonially consumed in the flames to symbolically signal the death of carnevale and make way for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

2006: This year, carnevale takes place from the middle of January through to its culmination on Martedí Grasso, the twenty-eighth of February 2006.

Around the World: Pre-Lenten festivals are also celebrated in many other parts of the world such as the famous celebrations in Port of Spain, Nice, European countries, Trinidad, Caribbean Islands, Rio de Janiero and New Orleans.

Derivation: The word carnevale literally means “farewell to meat” from the Latin carnem levare.

Carnevale di Venezia: The Carnival of Venice dates back over 900 years and is unique in all the world. Today, the theme in Venice focuses on the grandeur of 17^th and 18^th century Renaissance as well as the merry-making and antics of the characters from the commedia dell’arte. The natural beauty of Venice sets the stage for this magical celebration, as Piazza San Marco is transformed into a spectacle of enchantment, theater, dance, art, and music, accentuated with a grand ball. The creative spirit of the Venetians is openly evident and on display in the elegant costumes and opulent masks that are distinctive to Carnevale di Venezia. They create elaborate visions of loveliness that can take one on a journey into imagination and a tour of discovery, while still remaining close to the history, culture and customs of Venice. The Carnival of Venice is pure magic – it is fantasy come to life.

Commedia dell’arte: The commedia dell’arte is the famous comic form of street theater that developed in Italy in the 15^th century. This troupe of actors featured colorful costumes and masked clowns called zanni playing characters such as Pulcinella, Arlecchino, and Pantalone, each renown for their distinctive masks and characterizations. The troupe consisted of excellent actors, mimes, dancers and acrobats that would travel from town to town with their props and costumes and turn a simple piazza into a stage of entertainment, comedy and fantasy. (see poem below)

Traditional Foods and Recipes of Carnevale: Like every other holiday in Italy, there are traditional foods and dolci distinctively associated with carnevale and they include fritelle, crespelle, sfingi, castagnole, cenci, nodi, chiacchere, bugie, galani, fritole, berlingaccio, sanguinaccio and tortelli among others. The following cookbooks contain some of these recipes as well as recipes of other traditional Italian holiday foods. The cookbooks also have background information about the origin of the foods and a history of the relevant festa.

Festa: Recipes and Recollections of Italian Holidays by Helen Barolini
Cebrations Italian Style by Mary Ann Esposito
Celebrating Italy by Carol Field

Costume Party: Carnevale is a great theme for a costume party for children (or even for adults). Such a party can feature elegant and fun costumes, mask-making workshop, masquerade procession, pignatta ceremony, as well as traditional Italian music, dancing, and dolci.

King of Carnevale (Re Carnevale) Masquerade Procession: A fun activity is to have Re Carnevale lead a masquerade procession where everyone in masks and costumes parade to music accompanied by noisemakers, tambourines, streamers and confetti.

La Colombina - Re-creation of the Tradition of the White Dove Pignatta: Children love the pignatta (piñata). Traditionally in Piazza San Marco, a large white dove pignatta is suspended above the enormous crowd and broken open to commence the festivities of carnevale. (We should all know that that the custom of the pignatta originated in Italy, during the Renaissance, when a clay pot was stuffed with sweets and goodies, suspended in the air over the piazza and broken with a stick to release its contents.) (Pignatta is the Italian word for ‘clay pot.’)

Coloring and activity booklet: To download and print a coloring and activity booklet entitled Carnevale di Venezia, click here.

Storybook: To print a simple storybook, that you can color-in, about carnevale, click here.

Pulcinella Marionette: To print a cut-out marionette of Pulcinella, click here.

Music and dance program for children:

Ø tarantella (on the CD “Italian Festival” among others)

Ø ballo del qua qua (the “Chicken Dance” in Italian) (on the CD “Italian Festival” among others)

Ø giro giro tondo (on the audio cassette “Teach Me Italian”)

Ø testa, spalle, ginocchio, piedi (“Head , Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in Italian) (on the audio cassette “Teach Me Italian”)

Ø limbo dance, freeze dance, the train, hokey pokey, Macarena, among others.

Commedia dell’Arte Dolls:

Among other places, dolls of Arlecchino, Pulcinella and others can be purchased at:

E. Rossi & Sons

191 Grand Street (at the corner of Mulberry Street), Little Italy, Manhattan

(212) 966-6640

Capri Universal, Inc.

615 East 187^th Street (near Arthur Avenue), Belmont section of the Bronx

(718) 367-1843

Mask-making Workshop Materials:

Ø plastic half-masks or paper half-masks

Ø construction paper to cut out the mask form

Ø glitter glue

Ø feathers

Ø beads

Ø sequins

Ø jewel craft shapes

Ø tissue paper

Ø ribbon

Ø lace

Ø fabric

Ø pom poms

Ø paint

Ø glue

Poems:

- This poem tells of the masked characters of the commedia dell’arte and the cities in Italy from which they came.

Le Tredici Maschere

E` Gianduia torinese,

Meneghino milanese

Vien da Bergamo Arlecchino,

Stenterello é fiorentino.

Veneziano é Pantalone

con l'allegra Colombina,

di Bologna Balanzone

con il furbo Fagiolino.

Vien da Roma Rugantino,

pur romano é Meo Patacca,

siciliano Peppenappa,

di Verona Fracanappa,

e Pulcinella napoletano.

Lieti e concordi si dan la mano;

Vengon da luoghi tanto lontani,

Ma son fratelli, sono italiani.

by A. Cuman Pertile

- This children’s poem/song tells of how during carnevale anything goes, referring to the games, jokes or tricks of the festa.

Carnevale

A Carnevale, ogni scherzo vale,

evviva, evviva il Carnevale !

a Carnevale, ogni scherzo vale

evviva, evviva il Carnevale!

Cantiam, balliamo è Carnevale,

ma....

Domani a scuola (purtroppo)

si deve andare e studiare...

A Carnevale, ogni scherzo vale

evviva, evviva il Carnevale!

Research Materials

There is an abundance of sources to research the history, origin, significance and the numerous celebrations of carnevale throughout Italy.

Websites: A simple keyword search of “Carnevale” or “Carnevale di Venezia” or “commedia dell’arte” will locate several websites in English and Italian, such as;

http://www.carnivalofvenice.com - (Venezia)

http://www.meetingeurope.com/carnival/carnevale_progr2001.htm - (Venezia)

http://www.viareggio.ilcarnevale.com - (Viareggio)

http://www.carnevale.ivrea.it - (Ivrea)

http://www.carnevalediivrea.com - (Ivrea)

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6473/carnival.htm - (Ivrea)

http://www.trinakria.it/carnevale.sciacca - (Sciacca)

http://www.learnitaly.com/carnevale.htm - (carnevale)

http://www.commedia-dell-arte.com - (commedia dell’arte)

http://www.furman.edu/~dcummins/commedia/index.html - (commedia dell’arte)

Videos:

“It’s Carnival in Venice” by Vincent Mancuso, Mancuso Productions - http://www.carnivalinvenice-video.com
Numerous travel videos about Italy and Venice focus on carnevale and have relevant footage.

Books:

Carnevale Italiano: origini, maschere, tradizioni, storia by Walter Gautschi is a great research tool for the history of carnevale and the commedia dell’arte.
Carnival in Venice by Shirley Rowan is a photography book with many great photographs of the elegant costumes and opulent masks of carnevale in Venice.
Venetian Carnival: History and Traditions by Fulvio Roiter is a book with many colorful photographs and a history of the masks and costumes of carnevale and the commedia dell’arte.
Carnevale di Venezia by Emmanuel Scorcelletti is a photography book with many great photographs of the masks and costumes of carnevale.

Storybooks:

Harelquin and the Green Dress by Laura Fischetto is a great storybook for children featuring a commedia dell’arte skit.
Bravo, Zan Angelo: A commedia dell’arte Tale by Niki Daly is a great picture book for children with illustrations that are meravigliose.
Pulcinella by Rose Laura Mincieli is a funny storybook for children based upon this famous commedia dell’arte character from Naples.

Magazines:

“Venice Masquerade: Carnevale magic plays out on the world’s grandest stage,” National Geographic Traveler, Jan./Feb. 1999, vol. XVI, no.1, p. 76.
“Carnevale: behind the mask,” La Cucina Italiana, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 68.
“Masquerade,” by Bill Marsano, Endless Vacation, Nov/Dec 1994, p. 35.
“The Carnival of Venice,” Signature: The Magazine of Preferred Living, Feb. 1985, vol. 20, no. 2, p. 58.
Numerous travel magazines have feature articles that focus on carnevale.

Prints:

Teatro Italiano is a calendar by Cavallini & Co. that is sold at Rizzoli, Borders and other bookstores. This calendar provides excellent prints, for framing, of the traditional characters from the commedia dell’arte.

* A carnevale ogni scherzo vale *

Buon Carnevale a tutti !!!