Carnevale 2014 Begins tomorrow!

One of my favorite Carnevale events in Venice is the kick-off events held in Cannaregio Canal  on the first weekend of the Carnevale celebration.  It's focused on the residents, instead of the tourists. It's a party in the street, but on the canal instead. I love the local feel of it with all the simple homemade costumes and the huge boat parade down the canal. 

Tomorrow evening is a performance on the water. Last year this was a new event, put on by a French group of artists that was truly spectacular.  We'll have to wait to see how this compares to last year. 

Sunday afternoon is the main attraction - the Festa Veneziana.  It's a fantastic parade of boats up the canal with all the rowers in costume. The culmination is the raising of the pategana, a large rat, up out of the water. For a look at last year's event, check out my blog post: http://theveniceexperience.blogspot.it/2013/01/festa-veneziana-carnevale-kick-off-2013.html#sthash.QtC1gTQ7.dpbs

After the parade, there are food and drink booths lining both sides of the canal. This is where it becomes a big street party! Lots of fun, lots of cameraderie, lots of fritelle and lots of confetti!  

FYI- if you are trying to reach Murano or Burano islands either late tomorrow or Sunday, check on the vaporetto schedules as most of the Cannaregio canal will be closed during certain times for the celebration. 

                               

                                                            Buona Festa, tutti!

Fritelle + Confetti = CARNEVALE!

I know, my title today looks like a bit of really weird math. It is an equation, an equation for fun in Venice.

After taking down the Christmas decorations - and you know in Italy you don't take them down until January 6 which is Epiphany - it was a dreary January here in Venice. It rained. And then it rained some more. And then it kept on raining.  And then there was fog. Thick fog. The one thing we had to look forward to was the first sightings of fritelle to arrive in the bakeries around town. It was somewhere around mid January. The second you see the fritelle arriving, you know Carnevale isn't far behind.

 Fritelle are fried dough, with currents and pine nuts in the dough. They can be plain, rolled in sugar or stuffed with an assortment of goodies such as nutella, crema, zabaione, and ricotta.

The other harbinger of Carnevale that I look for is confetti on the streets. When I see the confetti, I know Carnevale is even closer. You an almost smell it in the air, it's that special. Confetti  has been spotted in several locations in the last couple of days, with lots of it in Campo Santa Margherita. I'm counting down days to Carnevale from here on in.

This year, Carnevale begins on February 15 and runs until March 4. The theme is Wonder and Fantasy Nature.  Join me through the whole month as I introduce you to Venetian masks and some of my favorite authentic mask makers around the city, costumes and some of the wonderfully talented people who make them, and the major activities of Carnevale taking place in and around  St. Mark's square.

To whet your appetite, here's a photo of one of my favorite costumes from Carnevale 2013.  I can't wait to see what's in store this year.

To learn more about this year's Carnevale program, check out the offical website at http://www.carnevale.venezia.it/index.php

Festa delle Marie and Flight of the Angel (Volo dell'Angelo)

Blue skies, sun, not too chilly temperatures. Much better day for the Festa delle Marie. Unfortunately  it would have  to be a very abbreviated version in order to fit in with all the other events scheduled for the day.  No parade from San Pietro di Castello yesterday, instead the parade groups began in the Piazzetta.

I got out early.  As I was hustling through the Piazzetta I caught a glimpse of a few of the beautiful costumes lined up along the Riva and of the parade groups getting into formation.   Lady luck was with me, or so I mistakenly believed, as I managed to get a pretty darned good spot right at the parade barricade leading up to the main stage. The parade would pass right in front of me! My camera was snapping from start to finish- well, almost finish.  Lady luck only went so far,-both my camera battery and backup went dead. With about 30 minutes of milling about until the Flight of the Angel at exactly 12 noon,  I figured I could at least could get some shots of the Angel in descent.  Just as the Angel was about to step off the platform and take off, my iPhone battery also went dead. Despite a little run of bad luck, I stayed to witness the Angel's flight anyway.  It was magnificent.

Here's a recap of the morning's events in photos. Enjoy a little taste of Carnevale!

Flag throwers warming up. Groups from surrounding areas of the Veneto come to participate, all in traditional garb.

The cable used for the flight of the angel was tested about an hour pre flight.

The Doge and his entourage arrives !

  Following the Doge are the 12 Maries. The first few are carried on the shoulders of gondoliers.

 This fellow is the King of the Gnocchi's, leading a bunch of other gnocchi's. I have forgotten which city they came from.

 Best shoes of the day!

The official website of Carnevale 2013 posted a video of the Flight of the Angel on You Tube, the link is below.  Watching it is the  next best thing to being there with me. Enjoy!


Click here to watch Flight of the Angel video

Festa delle Marie- on hold till tomorrow

I've been patiently waiting all week for the Festa della Marie, which unfortunately got rained out today. The weather just didn't cooperate. It poured rain from morning till night, causing all the scheduled Carnevale events to be either moved to tomorrow or outright cancelled. I was disappointed-but dry!

Twelve local girls are chosen to be the "Marie's" for each year's Carnevale, by participating in what appears to me to be something like a beauty pageant. The chosen 12, selected by a panel of judges,  are announced a few days before the beginning of Carnevale. One of the 12 is selected to be "the" Marie by a public vote. The girls officiate at not only the special  parade which officially kicks of the Carnevale season,  but also at various events during the whole 11 days. The one who is chosen as "the" Marie also gets the distinction of being the angel for the following year's Flight of the Angel ( someone descends from the bell tower of St. Mark's down to the main stage in the square)

After doing a little research on the Festa delle Marie, I discovered that this dates back to very old times. Each year on the day of the Purification of Mary, February 2, it was customary to bless all marriages all at one time at the cathedral of San Pietro di Castello.  At the same time, the marriages of 12 poor girls were also blessed, and these girls were outfitted by the wealthier families of Venice and even got to borrow jewels from the treasury of St. Marks for the occasion.

In 973, during this special blessing of the marriages ceremony, pirates raided the celebration and kidnapped the brides along with their jewelry. Local people set off after the pirates, were victorious and brought back the girls and their gems. Since that time, the Festa delle Marie is held in honor of the victory over the pirates. Twelve of the most beautiful girls from the poorer classes were selected to participate, and the main purpose was to draw foreigners to come admire the girls.

Today the Festa della Marie is a parade of the 12 girls, as well as costumed groups from other nearby areas accompanying the girls along a parade route beginning at the cathedral of San Pietro in Castello, travelling along the Riva degli Schiavoni, and ending at St. Mark's square where the 12 Maries are presented to the public.

This year's Maries - (photo courtesy Carnevale di Venezia official website)

I can only imagine how damaged these gowns would have been if the parade had gone on as scheduled today!  

Above is one of my photos from the 2011 Festa delle Marie marching along the Riva degli Schiavoni.  The first few girls are carried by gondoliers.

The parade has been rescheduled for 10 am tomorrow morning. Thankfully the weather forecast is showing all sun tomorrow. I expect to be out along the parade route.

More Festa delle Marie tomorrow. Stay tuned.

First frittelle of the season!!

I've had a cold since New Year's day, feeling quite crappy unfortunately. Last night as Mike was leaving the apartment for his walk, I asked him to bring back something for me that would make me feel better. Guess what my present was???  FRITTELLE!!!  I still felt crappy, but he sure did give my spirits a big boost!

Frittelle, for those of you who don't already know, are a Venetian treat made only at Carnevale time. It's essentially a fried doughnut, but even better!  The dough usually has raisins and pine nuts in it, and it can be filled with lovely stuffings such as creme , nutella, chocolate, zabaglione, marmalade, and ricotta, or left vuota (empty).

These tasty morsels are perhaps my favorite thing about Carnevale. I look forward to winter just so I can have frittelle. We've even put them in the freezer at the end of the season so I could stretch out my frittelle consumption a little bit longer. Just like in summer when I am a 2 or 3 gelato a day girl, Carnevale season I become a 2 Frittelle a day girl. Every bakery in town makes their own versions, all delightful.

Bakeries stack trays of frittelle in their windows, it's impossible to resist!

The link below is to a video of Cesare Colonnese, a Venetian, who shares his recipe for frittelle. Watch it and enjoy!  Yes, it's all in Venetian, but it's worth taking a few minutes, both to see the frittelle making and to enjoy Cesare!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTce74ZDXHI

If you are going to be in Venice this year over Carnevale, I recommend treating yourself to some frittelle. Go on your own "Great Frittelle Hunt".  Try a frittelle in each bakery you pass.  Bet you can't eat just one!!  Some of my favorites places to find frittelle include:

Tonolo near the Frari in Dorsoduro
Majer in Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro  or Via Garibaldi, Castello
Rizzardini by Campo San Polo, San Polo
Colussi by Campo San Barnaba


Carnevale 2013 officially begins January 26, ending on February 12 this year.  My Venetian friends have informed me this morning that eating frittelle before January 7 is not just not allowed.  January 7 is the day Carnevale started in past times,the day after Epiphany, and ended 40 days before Easter.   Since the 1980's, Venice has celebrated Carnevale for just  the last 10 days of that period.  I confess, I have violated the rule.

I tried to argue with my friends based on the fact that I am not Venetian and will never be considered a local, therefore the rule regarding not eating frittelle prior to Jan 7 just doesn't apply to me.  That logic didn't fly!!!   Fortunately for all of us January 7 is just a few days away!!!

This week's stuff

Che Freddo!!!!  We have been having incredible COLD days here over the past week. So cold that the lagoon has frozen over, and the Grand Canal and even the smaller canals have ice on them.

Ice chunks on the canal outside my apartment

Ice on the bottom and sides of the gondola.

The Carnevale Regata on Sunday was cancelled due to the frigid temperatures, and the temperatures have only gone lower throughout the rest of the week. Last night a wind (a Bora) was whipping down the streets and the canals  with such force we thought our shutters were going to be ripped off the house. All night long we heard boats banging up against the brick wall. This morning I read in the newspaper that il Toro, that bull I blogged about the other day, suffered quite a bit of damage from the high winds. It was constructed mostly of reeds from the lagoon. I think those reeds made their way back to the lagoon last night.  By mid day, what was left of il Toro had been moved from it's mooring next to La Salute to a place on land.

Besides the weather, this just hasn't been a good week at Ca' Hendersoni.  Even though I admit we are living a dream life,  there are still times we get a brutal reminder that life can smack us in the face just like anyone else.  On Monday, I took my dog Sam to the vets.  He is 17 yrs old this month, quite the old guy, with rapidly declining health. He's been on medication for arthritis, however in the last 2 weeks he can barely move. I wanted to know if there was any stronger medication we could be giving him.  Well, we now know that there is something a bit more serious causing the pain- he has a large tumor on his right back leg.  The vet took some blood and extracted some cells and sent them off to the lab. Unfortunately, the test results showed nothing conclusive. The next step would be a biopsy.  The vet, and we agree, feel that Sam is too frail to deal with surgery. At this point, we are giving him a new pain medication, much stronger.   Not a good start to the week.

Tuesday, I dropped a knife between the washing machine and the sink cabinet.  In order to retrieve it, we had to move the washer. When we put the washer back in place, it wasn't exactly right, so I ended up jacking it around a bit to get it positioned properly. While I was jacking around with the washer, I managed to bump the stainless steel counter top that has the sink embedded in it.  This counter top is not anchored in anyway- I moved it about a quarter of an inch off center.  So- I had to jack around with the counter top.  While I was doing that, I sliced open my thumb, which bled like an S.O. B. I had blood to clean up everywhere! Finally, with everything back in place, I got out of the kitchen before I could cause any more damage!

Two days later, while we were cleaning up dinner dishes, we looked down to discover we were standing in about a quarter inch of water, that was quickly making its way across the entire kitchen floor!!!  Somehow, while I was "fixing" the counter top I had moved previously, the pipe under the counter came loose, and gradually got looser over the two days.  When it finally gave way, the water spewed everywhere!  We had a swimming pool in seconds.  We had to empty the entire cabinet below the sink and dry that up. We had to mop up the floor. And- we had to pull out the washing machine to mop up behind it. I should have just left the washing machine where it was in the first place!

See, my dream life has it's crap days too!!

I'm sorry to say that my Venice Carnevale updates are going to take a hiatus starting tomorrow because we will not be in Venice. We're headed to Portugal, and will catch Carnevale on Maderia Island, where they celebrate it more like in Rio de Janiero.  We'll be back in Venice just in time for the very last night of Carnevale.  I am very eagerly awaiting the closing event of Carnevale 2012- Vogata del Silenzio. I watched it last year from the Accademia bridge, this year we have tickets to be riding in one of the gondolas that night. Vogata del Silenzio, a silent procession of gondolas down the Grand Canal ending at St. Mark's square, begins at 11:30 pm.  By midnight, all the boats will have arrived at St. Mark's square, where the wooden bull,  il Toro, will be set on fire, signifying the end of Carnevale and the beginning of Lent.

According to weather reports, the temperatures in Portugal are about 20 degrees warmer than in Venice today. Let's hope so. The forecasts for Venice are calling for snow on Friday and Saturday.

Carnevale 2012 - Day 1

Today is the first day of Carnevale!!!  The big events begin next week, there are only a few things going on in Venice today, the first of which is the arrival of Il Toro.  Lighting a wooden bull on fire on the last day of Carnevale is an old tradition, which has not been part of current celebrations here, until this year. Today the  bull was put into place at Punta della Dogana where it will remain until Feb 21, the last day of Carnevale, when it will be set on fire at midnight.

Mike and I walked all the way up the Zattere to the Dogana this morning around 11:30 to get photos of the bull on it's first day. Today was the coldest day we've had all winter ! The lagoon was frozen this morning, it was -1 F when we were out. Trust me, I wanted to stay inside, but my desire to see Il Toro on it's arrival had a higher priority than my staying warm.

All of the news articles advertised the inauguration would be at noon, and indeed it was. Not a very big turn out however, only about 30 people, mostly press, and a few other locals like us. We know the sculptor and mask maker Guerrino Lovato, the artist who made the bull, from our neighborhood, and we were very happy to be able to congratulate him on this incredible sculpture in person.

Mike estimates the bull is about 50 feet tall, way bigger than I imagined it to be. Above is the view you have when you are standing on the Dogana.

Here is Guerrino Lovato as he is talking to the press this morning. When I had a minute to congratulate him he turned to me and told me he was dressed in style with his scarf and hat for the occassion!

These guys assisted with the construction.

After seeing the bull at the Dogana and talking with Guerrino a bit, we got on the vaporetto in front of Salute so that we could ride past the bull in the hopes of getting a few decent shots of a front view. It was very grey today, so my photos are not so great. But- here's a front view. Cute, isn't it?

This photo is courtesy of the Carnevale 2012 website.  The bull is anatomically correct, including a huge pair of balls!

We disembarked the vaporetto at San Marco Vallresso in order to check out the Fountain of Wine that will be used this evening for the grand Brindisi (toast) to celebrate the offical opening of Carnevale. When it is working, wine will be spouting from all the top and all the lion's mouths.  I had originally planned to walk to St. Marks at 6pm to witness this event also, but it is way too cold. One walk was enough today. toasting Carnevale from the warmth of our apartment.

Carnevale starts tomorrow.....

Carnevale 2012 kicks off tomorrow in St. Mark's square at 6pm with a special toast, with wine flowing from a large fountain that is constructed specially for Carnevale.  There are a few other events over the weekend, then things are quiet until Feb 11 when things really get going.  Here are some photos of prior years costumes to give you a taste of what's to come - soon!  While St. Mark's square is a sea of humans during Carnevale, it's worth being jostled for a few hours just to be able to enjoy the sights.

 Yes, even the dogs join in.

This little guy looks like he's had all the fun he could take. 

And these two are in about the same shape!

At the end of the day, the streets of Venice are covered with confetti. Oftentimes, you can still see confetti on the streets well into March.

And one more "taste of Carnevale"- a few more frittelle. These are from Colussi's bakery near Campo Santa Barnaba. If you have not yet found your way to Colussi's, put it on your wish list.