Papà del Gnoco 2009

Carnival finished last Tuesday the 24th and like every year I attended  the parade on Friday. As you might know the last Friday of carnival in Verona is called “Venerdì Gnocolar” (Gnocchi’s Friday) with a famous parade and when it’s a must to eat gnocchi. The lucky ones can enjoy them at home those at work can find them at a bar or  restaurant. Schools are closed so the little ones can participate in the event. Early in the afternoon a big parade starts from Corso Porta Nuova and crosses the center of the city ending up in Piazza San Zeno. Music bands, majorettes, decorated floats cheerfully entertain the public until late evening.

The king of our carnival parade is Papà del Gnoco (father of the gnocchi) and instead of a scepter he carries a huge fork topped by a big gnocchi. He’s a real institution and has a costume of antique origins. His clothes – there are at least  different sizes depending on the papà del gnocco’s build – are made by Casa d’arte Fiore in Milan, famous for  making costumes for the main opera houses and theaters. Continue reading →

It’s carnival season in Italy it starts right after the Epiphany and lasts until Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). Pastries stores are filled up with carnival sweets: crostoli, frittelle and all the local specialties. Every place in Italy has its own traditions and some of them known worldwide. I feel lucky to live in Verona because we are famous for Venerdì Gnocolar (Gnocchi Festival) and its parade and also because I’m really close to Venice where I frequented a lot of carnivals. This year my mother in law and my niece are coming from the States to visit us and they chose this period of the year just for carnival, so I’m planning a lot of short trips and one or two of them are certainly dedicated to Venice.

Carnival in Venice is an event you should attend at least once in your life. I’m not partial when speaking about Venice because I consider it not only to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world but its carnival is truly spectacular as well. Continue reading →