Celebrating Easter in
Italy Amidst
a Global Pandemic
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Easter in Italy is a fervently celebrated holiday, second only to Christmas in its importance, and commemorated on a much grander scale compared to other parts of the world. It’s a holiday marked with striking rituals and traditions, from the Holy Week observance of solemn processions and masses, to the Easter Vigil, to the celebration of the Easter Sunday Mass, said by the Pope at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Even the day after Easter is marked by Pasquetta, ‘little Easter’, when family and friends venture out to the countryside to picnic with special homemade meals.
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A bit of history behind the holiday
Many universal holiday traditions are rooted in Italy. From Christmas celebrations in Africa, to the practice of Lent in the United States, a great many Christian holiday practices derive from Italian culture. And you guessed it… Easter is no different, with some customs dating back to the Roman Empire.
To start things off we have
Carnevale
: depending on where you live in Italy, this party could last anywhere from a few weeks to a full month, or more, and consists of masks, parades, and indulgences, all leading up to
Martedì Grasso
, better known in America as Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday.
Then, Italy’s Christians observe Lent, a period of reflection, atonement, and sacrifice that lasts 40 days. The closing week of Lent is Holy Week, a 7-day series of events that recall Christ’s final days.
Since Easter Sunday marks the end of the sacrifice and reserve practiced during the Lenten season, an abundance of food plays a big part in celebrating the Resurrection. Traditional holiday delicacies across Italy include lamb, or goat, artichokes, and a variety of special sweet or savory Easter breads and pies, whose tastes and shapes vary from region to region.
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A cousin to the Christmas panettone, the
colomba
is a fluffy bread shaped like a dove (hence the name), studded with candied orange peel and topped with pearl sugar and almonds. Although originating in Milano, the sweet cake is enjoyed throughout many regions in Italy. Another sweet Easter tradition is chocolate eggs. As is true in many other cultures, eggs are a symbol of fertility and new life. During Easter, artisanal Italian confectioners carefully craft elaborate hollow chocolate eggs, filling them with small toys and surprises.
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The
pastiera Napoletana
, (also known as
pastiera di grano
) is a rich, sweet pie filled with ricotta, eggs, and whole, cooked grain. The dessert originated in Napoli but is widely enjoyed throughout Italy during Easter. Another favorite Easter pie is the savory
pizza rustica
, made with bread dough and filled with beaten eggs and cured sausage, or
salumi
. Then there’s the traditional and easy-to-make macaroni pie, made with eggs, pasta and lots of cheese, which is also very popular at Easter time.
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Easter Mass at the Vatican on Sunday morning traditionally sees one of the largest celebrations of Easter in the world. St. Peter’s Square can hold as many as 80,000 people
!
Tens of thousands fill the square to hear Sunday morning Mass held by the Pope. Free tickets for this holy spectacle usually run out months in advance.
As you can imagine, all of these celebrations consist of large gatherings of people. The problem? COVID-19 now prevents celebrants from congregating. Most churches this Easter, including the historic Duomo Cathedral in Milano, will be closed to the public.
But on Easter Sunday, the voice of famed opera singer Andrea Bocelli will echo through the Cathedral’s empty pews during a special audience-free concert, which will be livestreamed.
The concert, titled "Bocelli: Music for Hope," will stream on
Bocelli’s YouTube channel
at 7 p.m. in Italy, which in the US is 1 p.m. ET, and 10 a.m. PT, Pasquetta (Easter Monday)
You can also view live-streaming Vatican Holy Week and Easter services online:
Pasquetta
,
Easter Monday
: To top off the Easter season, Italians celebrate the Monday after Easter as Pasquetta, or “Little Easter”, a national holiday typically celebrated by having picnics in locales just outside the city. Some cities hold dances, free concerts, or unusual games, often involving eggs. In the Umbrian hill town of Panicale, cheese is the star. Ruzzolone is played by rolling huge wheels of cheese, weighing about 4 kilos each, around the village walls. The object is to get your cheese around the course using the fewest number of strokes. Following the cheese contest, there is a band in the piazza—and wine, of course.
This year, Pasquetta will have to be celebrated at home. Relatives and loved ones may FaceTime or Zoom call each other, but most will enjoy the traditional cuisine in their own homes, or at least in their own backyards.
Although the COVID-19 virus has been particularly devastating in Italy, the country is still united by its strong sense of culture, beautiful language, rich history, love for family and deep traditions centered around celebrating holidays. Keep in mind that when not in the middle of a devastating pandemic, no one celebrates this holiday quite like the Italians. So, it’s a great time of year to visit this amazing country in the future!
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Saturday, April 11th • 10:00am
Easter Tradition Coffee Chat
Join a live coffee chat about Easter with our Program Director Beatrice Alecci. During this Zoom chat, we will share our own Easter traditions and meet with other people while drinking your caffe’ from home.
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Monday, April 13th at 3:00pm
VIRTUAL ADULT COOKING CLASSES
Ingredients needed, and full recipe will follow immediately upon registration.
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Pizza Rustica
A favorite item in the Easter Monday picnic basket is the pizza rustica, literally ‘rustic pie’, a savory concoction of flakey pastry crust with a filling of eggs, cheese and cured meats. Whether or not you celebrate Easter Monday outdoors, a pizza rustica should be on the Easter Sunday dinner table.
Register to our virtual cooking class with
Chef Patrizia for only $15.00!!
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The Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere
Preserving the Past, Enriching the Future
79 Howard Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301
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