FEBRUARY

The shortest month of the years somehow seems the longest, and this time it has one additional day! It's true, though, this winter has not been harsh in Italy, very cold at night but with sunny and relatively warm days. But we can't wait for winter to be over. When is March going to arrive? Lumberjacks are cutting the woods, you can hear the distant sound of chainsaws. We are pruning the roses and the wysteria in the courtyard. Lucky us that February is also the month of Carnevale!


CARNEVALE!

This year Carnevale will be in mid-February. The week of wild partying just before Lent will start with 'Giovedì Grasso' (= 'Fat Thursday') on the 16th and climax on Martedì Grasso (=Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras) the 21st of Febraury. This is the time when children get dressed up in costumes and meet in Piazza del Campo in Siena to throw coloured confetti and streamers. Grownups, too, often have parties where they dress up in fantasy costumes. We have celebrations in every town, but you will want to be in Venice once in your lifetime for mardi gras: Piazza San Marco will be really packed with people with the weirdest and most beautiful masks.

Carnevale will be partied everywhere in Italy. In Tuscany we have the famous Carnevale di Viareggio with huge satirical floats. Closer to Montalto there is the Carnevale di Foiano, supposedly the oldest carnival in Italy: it is only a 40 minutes drive from Montalto and the floats there are spectacular. But every town, big or small, will have its special celebrations: Siena, Arezzo, San Gimignano, Asciano, Cortona, Buonconvento, even Castelnuovo Berardenga.

During Carnevale the typical biscuits are fritters of pastry made with flour, eggs and wine and dusted with powdered sugar. You can find them everywhere, but with dozens of different names and shapes according to where you are: cenci, frappe, chiacchiere are the most common.

Not in the mood for crowded streets and confetti? The Chigiana season of classical music in Siena offers great concerts, the Enoteca Italiana organizes an olive-oil tasting week, and in a special festival, Girogustando, the restaurants of Siena host chefs from other cities in Italy to compare highlights of the local cuisine of each.