|
|
|
|
|
Repent,
it's Lent
|
Ritual
burnings and traditional feasts.
AlI the customs of Lent |
All
over Italy the beginning of the Lenten period is
celebrated in a myriad of ways.
 In
Martina Franca, in Apulia, a tradition
called Quarantana
(in Calabria it's called Corasìsima) is still
going strong. A stuffed puppet in the form of an
old lady is hung from a rope tied between two balconies.
A plastic bag holding a bottle of wine, an orange
and six biscuits is hung from the old lady. Each
Sunday in Lent one of the biscuits is removed and
by Easter Sunday the bag is empty.
The celebrations in Valdichiana take a more
macabre turn with "Segalavecchia" (literally
'saw the old lady') where an ironic mock trial is
followed by the demise of the aforesaid granny,
and celebrated in this traditional song.
In Pordenone
tradition is equally cruel during the "Rogo della
Vecia" (burning the old lady at the stake) which
finishes, as you may imagine, with an old lady -
thankfully in puppet form - being burnt, as a way
of getting rid of all the year's problems and adversities.
Both "Segalavecchia" and "Rogo della Vecia"
take place half-way through Lent. Indeed similar
traditions where a old lady is tried and punished
in front of the local community are common in many
towns and villages in Northern and Central
Italy as well as throughout a wide area of Catholic
Europe going from Hungary to Portugal.
 Lent
is a time of fast and people generally abstain from
rich foods such as meat and dairy products. However
if you were lucky enough to be in Calabria
or Sicily on Saint Joseph's Day (March
19th) you may have taken part in the
local custom of sharing your meal with the poor.
In the past people ate bread and chickpeas (in Calabria
Saint Joseph is also known as "u ciciararu",
the chickpea man) while nowadays a spread of omelettes,
vegetables, cheese and bread is more common. The
tradition is particularly strong in Salemi
(Trapani), Santa Croce Camerina (Ragusa),
Ramacca (Catania) and Riesi (Caltanissetta).
Saint Joseph's Day is also celebrated in Scicli
(Ragusa) where a flower-adorned horseback parade
of the Holy Family takes place through the
streets of the town on the afternoon of the 19th.
On the banks of Lake Trasimeno just outside
Perugia tradition has a sweet tooth. Indeed on the
first three Sundays of Lent in the lakeside towns
of Sant’Arcangelo, Fontignano
and Montali you can eat 'Torcolo' - a
delicious Lenten cake made from flour, sugar, eggs
and the best local oil. In the past the ring form
of the cake meant it was associated with engagement
announcements or given as a practical joke to unmarried
women, but now it's just another chance to tuck
in to tasty local produce.
|
| |
by
MARCELLO
PARMEGGIANI |
|
March
2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE SURVIVOR'S 
