L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Ambrosian one. Milanese are very, very fond of their f a m o u s p a t r o n s a i n t a n d Doctor of the Church, Saint Ambrose, so much so they f o l l o w h i s o w n l i t u r g i c a l calendar, which is a bit dif- ferent from the one used in t h e r e s t o f t h e c o u n t r y . Among other things, it also affects the date of the begin- ning of Lent, which starts on t h e S u n d a y a f t e r A s h Wednesday: this means that Carnevale lasts a bunch of days more. According to popular tra- dition, dates of the Roman and Ambrosian Rites don't match because of Ambrose himself, who once left Milan for a pilgrimage, promising his people to return in time to celebrate solemnly the rites for the beginning of Lent. The bishop, however, was delayed and so the city d e c i d e d t o p o s t p o n e t h e whole thing until his return. A n o t h e r v e r s i o n o f t h e legend says it was Ambrose himself to ask the Milanese to protract Carnevale until the first Sunday after Ash Wednesday, so that he could officiate the liturgy of the f i r s t d a y o f L e n t o n c e h e returned. Reality is, however, sligh- tly different. In truth, Lent u s e d t o s t a r t o n t h e f i r s t S u n d a y a f t e r A s h Wednesday everywhere, but the Roman Church, whose rite was to become predomi- nant, decided at some stage it wanted Lent to last exactly forty days, just like the time J e s u s s p e n t f a s t i n g a n d meditating in the desert: hence the earlier beginning and subsequent shortening of Carnevale. That's why in Milan the climax of all Carnevale cele- brations is not on Martedì Grasso, but on the following Saturday. And after this impromptu history lesson — for which I hope our readers will forgive m e , i f t h e y a r e n o t t h e history-loving types — let's get to the knitty-gritty of this year's peculiar celebra- t i o n s , a l l c a r r i e d o u t , o f course, in respect of social distancing and safety mea- sures. I n t h e h o p e t h a t , t h i s time next year, we'll all be able to parade, celebrate, dress up and eat chiacchiere in street, shoulder to shoul- der, again. Venezia goes fully online Since the end of the 16th century, Venice has been celebrating Carnevale in the most luxurious, decadent, rich manner. Its costumes and masks are perfect works of art and an aura of time- less mystery surrounds the lagoon during the event. Do y o u k n o w w h y i n t h e Serenissima Carnevale is so incredibly scenic and thea- trical? Well, because during the Renaissance Carnevale coincided with the begin- ning of the theater season, a m o m e n t h o n o r e d w i t h plenty of masked balls. This year, of course, the calli and palaces of Venice c o u l d n ' t b e f i l l e d w i t h masqueraded people, so the feast moved fully online. The whole 2021 program t o o k p l a c e v i r t u a l l y , l i v e streamed on the official C a r n e v a l e d i V e n e z i a website. On the 6th and t h e 7 t h o f F e b r u a r y , a n d t h e n a g a i n f r o m t h e 1 1 t h until the 16th, at 5pm Italian t i m e , s t a n d u p c o m e d y , i m p r o v i s a t i o n s , c o s t u m e g a l a s a n d e n t e r t a i n m e n t w e r e s t r e a m e d f r o m Palazzo Ca' Vendramin Calergi, see of the Casinò di Venezia. All Carnevale di Venezia social media chan- nels have been involved in the celebrations, too, with the organization of special events like the Maschera p i ù B e l l a , a t r a d i t i o n a l appointment of the Venetian Carnevale that, this year, was open to everyone, from every corner of the world. Last week, in occasion of the Ski World Cup's inaugu- r a t i o n i n C o r t i n a d'Ampezzo, the Carnevale di Venezia transferred to the Dolomiti, when the event's m a i n t e s t i m o n i a l , T i n a Maze, wore a beautiful dress f r o m V e n i c e ' s A n t o n i a Sautter Atelier. V i a r e g g i o s e n d s u s a "Save the Date" T h e C a r n e v a l e d i Viareggio is known for its colorful floats dedicated to Italy and the world's most popular characters. This has b e e n t h e l e i t m o t i f o f t h e event since its inception in 1 8 7 3 , w h e n a g r o u p o f w e a l t h y m e m b e r s o f t h e local bourgeoisie decided to dress up and parade along the town's streets to protests against heavy taxation. After the traumatic year we've just put behind, organizers saw i t f i t t o g i v e a u n i v e r s a l theme to the 2021 edition, one that can honor all the Carnevale traditions in the world, with the aim of brin- ging us all together as a true world community. However, health risks have been dee- m e d s t i l l t o o h i g h a n d Viareggio's traditional floats and colorful masquerades w i l l t a k e u p t h e s t r e e t s during the early Fall, more precisely from September 18 t o O c t o b e r 9 . I t w a s V i a r e g g i o ' s o f f i c i a l Carnevale organization, the Fondazione Carnevale, to inform the public about it, underlining also this is the first time in 148 years of e x i s t e n c e , t h a t p a r a d e s won't take place. Covid-19 did something not even two world wars had managed. See you in the Summer in Putignano A s i m i l a r d e c i s i o n h a s been taken by the organizers o f t h e C a r n e v a l e d i Putignano, which will cele- brate its 627th edition this year: no parades and cele- bration now, but a delayed edition during the Summer when, it is hoped, the pan- demic will be better control- led. All events will probably t a k e p l a c e i n J u l y , w h i l e August will be see a new edi- tion of Botteghe Aperte, a festival dedicated to creati- vity, Carnevale and music. I v r e a g o e s o n l i n e , b u t without battle of the oran- ges The Carnevale di Ivrea embraced the same philo- sophy as Venice and decided to go fully online. Sadly, though, the traditional bat- tle of the oranges won't take p l a c e . T h i s t r a d i t i o n a l C a r n e v a l e i s f i l l e d w i t h colorful, folkloristic events that well translate onto a virtual platform. Until the end of February everyone c a n t a k e p a r t t o U n Carnevale di Ricordi, an initiative aimed at bringing on social media channels the best memories from all pre- v i o u s e d i t i o n s , u s i n g t h e hashtag #uncarnevalediri- cordi. Continued from page 4 Monochromatic masks during Carnevale (Photo: Sjm1123/Dreamstime) The most famous Carnevali around Italy chose the online route and adapted their main events to virtual platforms, each of them in a different way.

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