Chiacchiere di Carnevale, pictured, are a crunchy, sweet, fried dough garnished with powdered sugar. Leading up to Martedì Grasso or Fat Tuesday, the height of Carnevale, one will find these all over Sicily. The label “chiacchiere” originates from Naples, where this fried mixture of flour, eggs, butter, and some kind of sweet wine reached high…
Tag: martedì grasso
From Bawdy To Fancy: Chiacchiere Di Carnevale
Similar to the fried dough Americans consume at Italian-American street festivals, chiacchiere di Carnevale, pictured, are a crunchy, sweet, fried dough garnished with powdered sugar.
Masques For Carnevale In Sicily
Buon Martedì Grasso! Happy Fat Tuesday! Today marks the final day and pinnacle of Carnevale, a topsy-turvy, days-long party of letting go, hidden identity, and mischief that has been celebrated since ancient times. Today’s Carnevale is observed similarly to our American Halloween–children dress in costumes that they plan for weeks and adults attend parties during…
Fat Tuesday In New York City
We’re ready for Carnevale! Join Experience Sicily in New York City on FAT TUESDAY, February 25 at 7pm for Two Chefs from Sicily, a prix-fixe traditional Carnival Sicilian menu at Cacio e Vino! Chef Nino Elia., Chef Giuseppe Sciurca, with assistance from Valeria Signorino will be cooking up a party for you Reserve your spot…
Topsy-turvy Carnevale in Sicily
Today is the final day of Carnevale! My cousin Francesca was in Sciacca this past weekend and took this photo. Sciacca boasts one of the leading celebrations in Sicily and Italy. Locals will tell you it’s been presented for centuries. Carnevale is the last hurrah before the planting season and before Lent, when many traditionally…
Carnevale in Sicily Is Underway
Carnevale is underway in Italy, and in Sicily that means the towns of Acireale and Sciacca are throwing big parties. The main festivities are this coming weekend, leading up to next Tuesday’s finale. This photo is from 2017, when I was fortunate enough to be dancing in the streets with all of the other revelers….
Carnevale, Valentine’s Day, Mythology, and Love in Sicily
Love is in the air! Today is Martedì Grasso–Fat Tuesday–the final day of Carnevale! It’s also the day before St. Valentine’s Day… mmm… considering the ancient practices of Carnevale, could it be related to how we interpret Valentine’s Day today? I’m not really sure, but I’ll venture to guess there is a relationship between the…
Sicily’s Almond Nougat
Freshly made almond nougat is prevalent at street festivals like Carnevale in Acireale, Sicily. The craftsmen who make the sugar and almond sweet, called cubaita in many parts of Sicily, put on a show right in front of your eyes, mixing and forming the boiling-hot, teeth-cracking bars in seconds as it quickly cools on the…
A Glimpse Of 2018 Carnevale
Experience Sicily’s Evelina Buttitta and Salvo Rubino are in Acireale, Sicily for Carnevale this weekend enjoying the festivities. Evelina sent me this photo of one of the floats to share with you. Enjoy!
Where Are Your Carnevale Masks?
Hey, guys, where are your masks? For Carnevale, it has been tradition for centuries to dress in costume in order to hide one’s identity. … Let’s start from the beginning. So, “carne” means meat, but really, it means flesh. In this case, flesh is for body. In pre-Christian times, this period of CARNE-vale, before the…