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Learn here how Carnevale was celebrated in Sicily.

The word Carnevale comes from the Latin phrase "carnem levare" (stop eating meat), popularly translated in "carnevale" or "carnasciale", to indicate the last meat banquet that was held before Lent.

Sicily is a region rich in history and traditions where each town has a unique way of celebrating Carnevale.

The first celebration of Carnival in Sicily dates back to the 1600s and it took place in the city of Palermo with allegoric horse races and comedies played in public squares.

Streets like the "Cassaro" and the "Strada Nuova" were crowded with the "Carrozzate", parades of coaches (carrozze) owned by noblemen.

In Palazzolo Acreide the celebrations still today go on for six days with parades of allegoric wagons, and of the typical Syracusan masks called "cuturri". On that occasion a large amount of pasta called "avatieddi" (pasta made with tomato sauce and pork meat) is cooked for the enjoyment of a large crowd.

In Saponara, it's on Fat Tuesday that all the citizens become involved in the "Procession of the Bear and the Noble Court". The reference is from a true story. In the 18th century, the Prince Domenico Alliata di Villafranca and his wife Victoria Di Giovanni, baroness of Saponara, were in power and it was then that a wild bear appeared and kept threatening the entire population. The prince captured the bear and in order to reassure the people that the danger was over he put the bear on the leash and walked him in the city streets.

In Novara di Sicilia locals celebrate Carnevale with a race of different shapes of maiorchino cheese, a local goat cheese. The race takes place in several squares where producers of this cheese compete rolling these shapes of cheese weighing approximately 6 pounds each along the city streets. At the finish line everybody can finally taste the maiorchino along with "ricotta" cheese and "tuma" cheese.

With origins that date back to the 16th century, the Carnevale of Acireale is considered the most beautiful in Sicily. In old times it was celebrated by throwing eggs and oranges but it later developed into a more refined celebration. In the 18th century the Carnevale was celebrated with the "abbatazzi": they portrayed some of the popular poets reciting funny and pleasant rhymes to the people in the streets. In the 19th century the "cassariata" was introduced; it was a parade of carriages driving aristocrats around Acireale while they threw colorful confetti at the people. Today Carnevale is celebrated with wagons and carts decorated with flowers (more than 30,000 carnations are used) carrying large colorful masks throughout the town.

In Sciacca the celebrations begin on Fat Thursday when the keys of the city are given to the local mask called "Peppe Nnappa"; while the procession of monumental masks takes place, people take the time to enjoy local products such as wine, sausages, pasta and "cannoli"; in the end the same Peppe Nnappa mask is burnt marking the beginning of Lent.

Learning about our origins can be an important legacy to our children, after all memories are not used to remember the lost time, but to start again, knowing that losing our roots inevitably leads to a loss in our identity as people who live, think and love.

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