Carnevale

Borgotaro is covered in white flakes.. but this time it’s not snow; it’s confetti and it’s Carnevale 2009!

Being a predominately Catholic country (and equally as pervasive a “let’s make merry” country), Italians throw a final party before Ash Wednesday and the restrictions of Lent. This winter festival is celebrated with parades, masquerades, music and entertainment. Mischief is also on the agenda as my cute 16 year old cohort can attest; she was a bit flabbergasted when her cute 16 year old fanny was smacked amidst the merriment.

It is Sunday; Maria and I have the day off (presumably to go to church or carnival as the case may be). On our 10 km walk we hear the cheer of Borgotaro even before arriving. In town, lively music accompanies large floats that are pulled by - this is my favorite part- farm tractors! The floats include a pirate ship, an Egyptian pyramid, Donald Duck, Homer Simpson, and Cody Maveric the Surf’s Up penguin. Each float is accompanied by a supporting staff of like-minded costumes; pirates, Egyptians, ducks, Homers, and penguins dance down the street amongst brightly dressed spectators.

We slip into a café for a break and a hot beverage; the line for a drink is equal to the line for the toilet. I wait for the latter but once in the little room, I find – the toilet bowl is missing. On the ground lies a white porcelain floor with a small-ish hole in the middle and foot pads on either side. I am a novice at squatting over these Turkish toilets but apparently those that went before me where no better; the foot pads aren’t nearly raised high enough and I stand in liquid. “Lovely”. The rose-hip tea however, truly was lovely.

Our next stop is a pizzeria. In the all-stone pizza-oven they simply bake pizza-bread; still hot, the pizza-bread is sprinkled with salt and olive-oil and served immediately to the next in line. What is my defining moment of Carnevale 2009? Watching an American created Homer Simpson happily consume an Italian created pizza. It’s a small world after all.