Carnevale

For family benefit: the little boy who features prominently in this video is Andrea, son of Ennio. The man in the brown sweater is Daniele, son of Antonio. The woman beside Daniele is Marina, wife of Ennio.

One of the things we got to experience this time around was the community Carnevale. You might know this event if you live in the states as Mardi Gras and you will know that it is supposed to occur before Ash Wednesday to mark the start of Lent. Orio knows that too, but as they explained, the big cities all have taken those dates so they hold their carnevale in the middle of Lent. (So much for self denial.) The neighborhood children all gather in costumes at the local community center on Saturday afternoon, and there is much tossing of confetti. We were practically buried in the stuff, which unfortunately sticks to woolen clothing and little girl hair with tenacity of chewing gum. We were covered in the stuff before we left. There is a big party on Saturday night, and Sunday morning the whole town brings empty pots down to the town square to fill them from big cauldrons of beans seasoned with pork stewed by the town grandees. It is a very festive time, and apparently gets more so as the evening wears on just before the giant bonfire is lit in the square. Unfortunately, our time ran out, and we had to catch our plane before the event ended. Nonetheless, the two-thirds of carnevale which we encountered was a unique and enjoyable cultural experience.