Easter is one of the main festivals in Italy and eggs and lamb always feature in the typical Easter recipes.
This is the roasted lamb recipe.

Ingredients

* 1/2 lamb, about 10 to 15 pounds
* 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1/2 tablespoon pepper
* Chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions

Marinate lamb in white wine vinegar, oregano, oil and salt and pepper. Refrigerate, covered, for 24 hours. Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Roast lamb, potatoes and onions, uncovered for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Source: Food Network

In Italy, a sagra (plural: sagre) is a local festival, very often involving food, and frequently a historical pageant and sporting events: when the sporting event is a historical recreation as well, such as a joust or a horse race in costume or armour, it is called a palio.

The various sagre almost always have their origins in old country fairs or similar entertainments, but many of them now aim at visitors or even foreign tourists, and some, like the Quintana of Foligno, had lapsed for many years but have been recently revived.

A sagra is often dedicated to some specific local food, and the name of the sagra includes that food; the array of gastronomic specialties covered across Italy is amazing: for example, we find a Sagra della Rana (frog) at Casteldilago near Arrone, a Sagra della Cipolla (onion) at Cannara, a Sagra della Melanzana ripiena (stuffed eggplant) at Savona, a Sagra della Polenta at Perticara di Novafeltria, and so on. Among the most common sagre are those celebrating olive oil, wine, pasta and pastry of various kinds, chestnuts, and cheese.

Italian version.

Source: wikipedia

Italians do not decorate hard–boiled eggs nor have chocolate bunnies or pastel marshmallow chicks, the biggest Easter displays in bars, pastry shops, supermarkets, and especially at chocolatiers are brightly wrapped uova di Pasqua—chocolate Easter eggs—in sizes that range from 10 grams (1/3 ounce) to 8 kilos (nearly 18 pounds). Most of them are made of milk chocolate in a mid–range, 10–ounce size by industrial chocolate makers.

Some producers distinguish between their chocolate eggs for children (sales numbers are a closely guarded secret, but the market for these standard quality eggs is said to be shrinking with Italy’s birthrate) and expensive “adult” versions.

All except the tiniest eggs contain a surprise. Grown–ups often find their eggs contain little silver picture frames or gold–dipped costume jewelry. The very best eggs are handmade by artisans of chocolate, who offer the service of inserting a surprise supplied by the purchaser. Car keys, engagement rings, and watches are some of the high–end gifts that have been tucked into Italian chocolate eggs in Italy.

Article taken from Italian about.

At Vatican City there are a series of solemn events that culminate in Easter Sunday Mass. During the spring holy days that center around the vernal equinox there are also many other rites practiced throughout the country that have their roots in historic pagan rituals. In addition, the Monday following Easter is an official Italian holiday called la Pasquetta, so if traveling be prepared for another day of repose.

* Tredozio: on Easter Monday the Palio dell’Uovo is a competition where eggs are the stars of the games.
* Merano: the Corse Rusticane are conducted, fascinating races with a special breed of horses famous for their blonde manes ridden by youths wearing the local costumes of their towns. Before the race, the participants parade through the streets of the town followed by a band and folk dance groups.
* Barano d’Ischia: on Easter Monday the ‘Ndrezzata takes place—a dance which revives the fights against the Saracens.
* Carovigno: on the Saturday before Easter is a procession dedicated to the Madonna del Belvedere during which the ‘Nzeghe contest takes place: banners must be hurled as far as possible.
* Enna: religious rites dating back to the Spanish domination (fifteenth through seventeenth century) take place in this Sicilian town. On Good Friday, the different religious confraternities gather around the main church and over 2,000 friars wearing ancient costumes silently parade through the streets of the city. On Easter Sunday, the Paci ceremony takes place: the statue of the Virgin and that of Jesus Christ are first taken to the main square and then into the church where they stay for a week.

The text is taken from Italian about.

A huge explosion will be detonated Easter Sunday in front of the magnificent green– and white–marbled neogothic church in Florence’s historic center. Instead of running in fear from a terrorist’s bomb, though, thousands of spectators will cheer the noise and smoke, for they will be witnesses to the annual Scoppio del Carro—explosion of the cart.

For over 300 years the Easter celebration in Florence has included this ritual, during which an elaborate wagon, a structure built in 1679 and standing two to three stories high, is dragged through Florence behind a fleet of white oxen decorated in garlands.

The pageantry ends in front of the Basilica di S. Maria del Fiore, where Mass is held. During the midday service, a holy fire is stoked by ancient stone chips from the Holy Sepulcher, and the Archbishop lights a dove–shaped rocket which travels down a wire and collides with the cart in the square, setting off spectacular fireworks and explosions to the cheers of all. A big bang ensures a good harvest, and a parade in medieval costume follows.

Source: Italian about.

I always have problems when I have to translate the word “Enoteca”, because it is a particoular place that the dictionary translates with “Wine Bar”.
This is the description I found on wikipedia.

Enoteca (plural: Enoteche) is an Italian word, formed by analogy with biblioteca (”book repository, library”), which literally means ”wine repository” (from Oeno/Eno- “wine”, and teca ????, “receptacle, case, box”), but is used to describe a special type of local or regional wine shop that originated in Italy.

The concept of an enoteca has also spread to some other countries. A genuine enoteca is primarily directed at giving visitors or tourists the possibility to taste these wines at a reasonable fee and possibly to buy them.

An enoteca is often run in collaboration with growers or growers’ or tourism organisations in the village or region. The reason such establishments were named to connote ”wine libraries” was that they were intended as a hands-on source of information on local wines rather than as regular outlets for larger quantities of each wine, or primarily intended for established customers.

Often, an enoteca stocks rather small amounts of each wine, and customers who wish to purchase large quantities after tasting are referred directly to the producers. In some cases, an enoteca will also sell other local foodstuff and/or serve small snacks to go with the wines.

Since some enoteche serve snacks with the wine, enoteca has also been used as the name of some wine bars or restaurants, especially bistro-style restaurants with Italian food.

I’ve been abroad many times and I often asked for a CAPPUCCINO… but always with poor results!

So I decided to take the real recipe from wikipedia and to publish it…

Cappuccino is an Italian drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. A cappuccino differs from a caffè latte in that it is prepared with much less steamed or textured milk than the caffè latte, with the total of espresso and milk/foam making up between approximately 150 ml and 180 ml (5 and 6 fluid ounces).

A cappuccino is traditionally served in a porcelain cup, which has far better heat-retention characteristics than glass or paper. The foam on top of the cappuccino acts as an insulator and helps retain the heat of the liquid, allowing it to stay hotter longer.

Besides a shot of espresso, the most important element in preparing a cappuccino is the texture and temperature of the milk. When a barista steams the milk for a cappuccino, microfoam is created by introducing very tiny bubbles of air into the milk, giving the milk a velvety texture and sweetness.

The traditional cappuccino consists of an espresso, on which the barista pours the hot foamed milk, resulting in a 2 cm (¾ inch) thick milk foam on top. Variations of the mixtures are usually called cappuccino chiaro (light cappuccino, also known as a wet cappuccino) with more milk than normal, and cappuccino scuro (dark cappuccino, also known as a dry cappuccino) with less milk than normal.

Attaining the correct ratio of foam requires close attention be paid while steaming the milk, thus making the cappuccino one of the most difficult espresso-based beverages to make properly. Moreover, a skilled barista may obtain artistic shapes while pouring the milk on the top of the espresso coffee.

This is the recipe of the typical Tuscan appetizer I found on Food Network.

They are called “Crostini Toscani” or “Crostini Neri” (something like Tuscan or Black toasts).

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/8-inch dice
* 1 tablespoon salt packed capers, rinsed and drained
* 2 tablespoons anchovy paste, or 4 anchovy fillets, rinsed and patted dry
* 1/2 pound chicken livers
* 1/2 cup dry red wine, Chianti
* 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Pinch chili flakes
* 1/4 bunch parsley leaves, chopped
* 8 (1-inch thick) slices Italian peasant bread

Directions

In a 12-inch skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until just smoking. Add the onion, capers, and anchovy paste, and cook until the mixture is golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken livers and stir until lightly browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the wine and balsamic vinegar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Using a potato masher, mash the mixture so that it is lumpy. Stir in the chili flakes and parsley.

Toast the bread until golden brown and place on serving plates.
Spread equal amounts of the liver mixture over 1 side of each piece of bread and serve immediately.

Pulcinella is a typical Italian mask.
That’s the description I found on wikipedia.

Pulcinella, often called Punch or Punchinello in English, Polichinelle in French, is a classical character that originated in the Commedia dell’arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry.

His main characteristic, from which he acquired his name, is his extremely, big long nose, which resembles a beak. In Latin, this was a pullus gallinaceus, which led to the word “Pulliciniello” and “Pulcinella,” related to the Italian pulcino or chick.

According to another version, “Pulcinella” derived from the name of Puccio d’Aniello, a peasant of Acerra, who was portrayed in a famous picture attribued to Annibale Carracci, and indeed characterized by a long nose. It has also been suggested that the figure is a caricature of a sufferer of acromegaly.

Ever white dressed and black masked (hence conciliating the opposites of life and death), he stands out thanks to his peculiar voice, the sharp and vibrant of qualities of which contribute intense tempo of the show.

According to Pierre Louis Duchartre, his traditional temperament is to be mean, vicious, and crafty: his main mode of defense is to pretend to be too stupid to know what’s going on, and his secondary mode is to physically beat people.

Actually Pulcinella is an archetype of humanity, with all its complexities and contradictions.

Italian version.

I found this article on goitaly.

What is Carnevale?

Carnevale, also known as carnival or mardi gras, is celebrated in Italy and many places around the world 40 days before Easter, a final party before Ash Wednesday and the restrictions of Lent.

How is Carnival Celebrated in Italy?

Carnevale in Italy is a huge winter festival celebrated with parades, masquerade balls, entertainment, music, and parties. Children throw confetti at each other. Mischief and pranks are also common during Carnevale, hence the saying A Carnevale Ogni Scherzo Vale, anything goes at carnival.

Carnevale has roots in pagan festivals and traditions and as is often the case with traditional festivals was adapted to fit into the Catholic rituals. Although carnival is actually one date, in Venice and some other places in Italy the carnival celebrations and parties may begin a couple weeks before.

Masks, maschere, are an important part of the carnevale festival and Venice is the best city for traditional carnival masks. Carnival masks are sold year round and can be found in many shops in Venice, ranging from cheap masks to elaborate and expensive masks. Walking through the streets of Venice, it’s a pleasure to view the variety of masks on display in shop windows. People also wear elaborate costumes for the festival and there are costume or masquerade balls, both private and public.

Carnevale date

The 2009 date for carnevale is February 24 but celebrations in Venice and many parts of Italy will run from February 14 (or even earlier) through February 24, 2009.