Carnival in Italy - video recipes at home

Traditionally cheerful colorful Carnival preceded Lent, and celebrate it all over the world, arranging balls, masquerades, parades of masked, but easily recognizable characters, parades painted carts with amazing works figures made of papier-mache, dancing with music till you drop.

Carnival ends with a grand celebration on Tuesday, this year Feb. 21, called marted ì grasso , and from Wednesday begins Lent.

It is believed that the origin of the word "Carnival" is from medieval Latin ' carnem levare ', ( "to remove meat"). By the way, Russian Carnival once known as "Myasopustom" is because before Lent meat has been banned as the Orthodox and the Catholics.

Carnival begins everywhere at different times, but more often it lasts for 2 weeks before Lent, and the origin of the festival goes back to the pagan past, when people wore masks to scare away evil spirits. With the advent of Christianity the ritual has lost its magical component, and as a result has become a national holiday. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance carnival celebrations came to European yards and took more refined forms associated with theater, music and balls. The most famous in the world of the carnival held in Venice, and in these 10 days, all squares, streets, canals and courtyards of the city are filled with masked characters in the luxurious suits and tourists arriving from all over to take a look at this miracle of at least one eye.

Indeed, Venetian Carnival is known beauty and dressing costumes, unrestrained luxury balls and magical atmosphere. Just at this time there are many other cultural events: exhibitions, art exhibitions, theatrical performances and fashion shows.

In addition to the carnival in Venice, celebrities and other carnivals in towns Viareggio, where you can see the most beautiful allegorical carts with figures made of papier-mache and Ivrea, where the orange battles take place on tradition, and carnivals Sicily, in the cities Acireale and Sciacca, with great entertainment.

Goethe said: "Carnival - is not just a national holiday praznik is that the people gives to himself."

Maybe that's why all the traditional sweets - simple household items, most of all - deep fried, which have no relation to the high confectionery art.

In each region, of course, have their own traditions and recipes, but the most famous carnival sweets - is frappe or kyakkere, or Cenci or sfrappole, ... or the names of these test strips, fried or baked in the oven, sprinkled with powdered sugar or watered chocolate, does not count! The second, equally known sweetness - Castagnole, fried in butter balls from crumbly pastry.

In northern Italy prepared tortelli or ravioli with sweet filling, cake of millet or corn flour 'Migliaccio " in the south - struffoli, very small fried balls with honey, sprinkled with colored sugar ornaments. And because there are apple rings, deep fried various donuts, fritole (irregularly shaped donuts with grappa and raisins), pantserotti jam, fried sweet noodles ... choose what you want!