How can I set the table with the same crockery, glasses and cutlery in a different way? How many times did you make yourself this question? No problem. We can help you with simple and cheap ideas, for example with this Easter table.

For this occasion (but the idea is good for every spring occasion), we realized a little flowered garden. The centrepiece is made with little vases of fresh spring flowers and painted hard-boiled eggs that remembers to us the nets of the birds. You can arrange some other eggs on the table. Besides you can plant in the garden all the little plants you’ve used for the following year.

We rolled up some fresh flowers with the same colors of cutlery inside the napkins. Every guest will be able to take away them as a pleasing gift. You will be able to choose the colors of the flowers according to what you have got. You can also use cloth tablemats with predominant color.

Source: The Italian taste

You will need:

* The artificial pine you usually use at Christmas
* Silk little flowers of different colours, typical in spring
* Some little animals of different colours

We had this idea when Christmas ended and we were disassembling our Christmas tree.
“What a pity! - we said - we use it only once a year! This tree, well decorated, gives our house so beautiful”. And so we thought to decorate it at Easter too! Generally we don’t think of decorating a pine at Easter but pines bud in spring and give shelter to birds and their nests.
And so … this is our new Easter tree! It’s nice, isn’t it?

This Easter tree is easy-to-do. Buy the flowers and animals combining the colours very well. Look at the photo and its enlargement for more details.
Have a happy Easter!

Article taken from The Italian taste

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

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.

This is the traditional beginning of the Neapolitan Easter meal.

I found this article on Italian food.
The recipe is after Cavalcanti, the great Neapolitan gastronome of the mid-1800s.
To serve 6:
Prep Time: 1 hours
Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

* 3/4 pound (325 g) breast of veal
* 1 pound (450 g) beef shank
* 3/4 pound (325 g) pig’s tails (substitute lean pork if you prefer)
* 3/4 pound (325 g) Neapolitan sausages
* 1/2 pound (205 g) Neapolitan salami
* Fresh parsley and thyme
* Marjoram
* A little rosemary
* 1 teaspoon tomato paste
* 1 medium-sized onion
* 1.5 quarts (1.5 liters) water
* 5 pounds (2 1/4 k) cardoons stripped of their fibrous threads, OR:
* 5 pounds (2 1/4 k) leafy vegetables (savoy cabbage, lettuce, beet greens etc.)
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* Salt (to be added at the end)
* Pepper or hot pepper to taste

Preparation:

On Easter Eve make broth using the meat and the herbs; begin with cold water to cover and place the herbs in a gauze pouch so you can remove them easily when the broth is done (an hour or somewhat more simmering; taste the liquid and correct seasoning). Remove and discard the herbs. Remove the meat from the broth, pluck it from the bones, and set it in a bowl, with enough broth to cover.

The next day skim the fat from the bowl and the soup pot and stir in the wine. Scrub chop and boil the greens until almost done, drain them well, and finish cooking them in the broth with the meats, seasoning to taste. Serve with slices of toasted bread.

The wine? A light red, for example Vesuvio Rosso DOC.

Yield: 6 servings Neapolitan Easter Soup.

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.