This is the recipe of the traditional cake made in Florence during Carnival (Schiacciata alla Fiorentina) that I found on Epicurious.

Ingredients

* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 packet active dry yeast or 2 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus two tablespoons
* 2 large eggs, at room temperature
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* Grated zest of one orange
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 2 egg yolks

Garnish:

* 3 to 4 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation

Lightly brush sides and bottom of an 11 x 7 x 1 1/2-inch baking pan with olive oil.

Dissolve the yeast in water and follow directions on the package regarding how long to let it sit. Using a mixer at medium speed (or processor with dough blade), blend into the yeast mixture the following (in order): the flour, half of the sugar (1/4 cup plus two tablespoons), the salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, the two whole eggs. Blend at medium speed until smooth and well combined.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the orange zest, and cinnamon, blending until oil is incorporated into dough. This mixture will be sticky and unkneadable. Scrape the dough into a very lightly oiled bowl. Wrap the bowl in plastic wrap or a large towel and put it in a warm place (75 to 80° F, no drafts) for 1 1/2 hours to allow dough to rise.

Using mixer (or processor with dough blade), again at medium speed, into the risen dough blend egg yolks and the remaining granulated sugar until fully incorporated. It should form a smooth, yet loose ball. Scrape mixture into the oiled baking pan. With your knuckles, even the dough to a uniform thickness, cover with a towel (preferable to plastic wrap, because the dough may expand over the pan edge), and place it in that warm place again until it rises to the edge of the pan, approximately 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Bake dough until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven, run a knife around the edge of the pan. Let it cool for 10 minutes. Then, with a decisive motion, slam the pan on a counter to dislodge cake.

Cover the cake with a heavy dusting of powdered sugar. For decoration, you may cut out a stencil of a Florentine lily and lay it on the cake before its sugar coating for a traditional and very handsome design.

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.

The Carnival of Venice is famous all over the world for the beauty of its masks and stock characters. It’s full of colours and joyful atmospheres.
This year you will have the chance to feel it also without using your eyes…
These info are taken from the Venice Carnival website:

This very special Carnival Party is held totally in the dark to intensify all the senses, especially touch. Based on the “Dialogo nel buio” exhibition that is currently breaking attendance records all around the world, Carnevale al Buio is a unique sensorial experience involving expert sightless guides leading visitors round a special sense-hieghtening circuit, totally in the dark.

The new Carnival edition of Dialogo nel Buio offers fresh surprises and a completely new “in the dark” experience. In collaboration with the Milan Institute for the Blind, for Sensation 2009 the installation will be located at Corderie dell’Arsenale, in the Castello “Touch” district in Venice. Fragrances installation by Oikos Fragrances.

Italian version.

The Carnival of Putignano is one of the most important carnivals in Italy.

As wikipedia teaches us, it is the oldest (dated from 1394) and longest Italian carnival. It starts the day after Christmas and finishes the day before the ash Wednesday.
There are four Carnival parades, 3 on the last month’s Sundays and one in the evening of the last day of carnival (shrove Tuesday). Since 2005 the Carnival Foundation added a summer parades that usually takes place in July.

Someone says it is in the top 3 of Italian Carnivals, together with Viareggio and Venice carnivals.
If you want to go there, I also have to tell you that Putignano is located in Apulia, in the southern Italy, 40 km from Bari.

Cento is a city in Emilia Romagna and its name referes to the centuriation of the Po Valley.

I found these info about Cento’s Carnival on blog dolce vita.
The Carnival of Cento, near Ferrara, has a long tradition; back in the Renaissance it even drew the attention and admiration of such a great painter as Guercino who painted the Berlingaccio, the famous local mask, in one of his magnificent frescoes at Palazzo Comunale where the city council, every year, used to host a great party to celebrate the Carnival, with wine flowing freely and people going wild .

It’s true that the Carnival of Cento (twinned with the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro since 1993) has over the years grown wilder and wilder and now many see it as the most transgressive in Europe.

The Viareggio Carnival was established in 1873 when some of the local “signori” decided to organize a Sunday a little different from the rest, by inventing a procession of decorated floats which travelled up and down the main street of the city.

On that occasion a masked protest was also organized by a number of citizens, as they were forced to pay too many taxes and as a result the chief tax collector was certainly made fun of!! The parade was liked a lot not only by the patrons but also by the citizens and the idea of making floats that interpreted humour and disatisfaction of the people came about in that year.

Since then Viareggio has become the home of the Italian Carnival, with its masked parades characterized by allegorical floats in papermache. These floats are true works of art to which the local float makers dedicate an entire year of workmanship.

There is not one politician, entertainer, or intellectual that has not been a target (protagonist) of one of these floats which almost comes to life during the parade by the moving arms, opening and closing mouths and rolling eyes. On every float young people and children find a place from which to throw confetti and shooting stars to the crowd. During the entire period masked balls and parties in the various “rioni” (quarters, districts) are organized as well as numerous sports and cultural events i.e. “Torneo Internazionale giovanile di calcio”.

The official Viareggio Carnival mask is the “Burlamacco”, a clown which wears clothes taken from other Italian masks: checkered overalls, taken from the Harlequin’s costume, a white ponpon stolen from Pierrot’s big puffy blouse, a white gorget - “Captain Scary” style, a red headband and a black mantle. The name Burlamacco derives from Buffalmacco a Florentine painter and a character in the “Decamerone”. However, it is also said to be linked to the Lucchese surname Burlamacchi.

This article is taken from Vacanze in Versilia.

Italian version.