{"id":4301,"date":"2015-03-29T16:20:27","date_gmt":"2015-03-29T14:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=4301"},"modified":"2021-09-12T02:55:56","modified_gmt":"2021-09-12T00:55:56","slug":"easter-in-italy-the-same-old-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/easter-in-italy-the-same-old-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter in Italy: The Same Old Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
Pasqua<\/em> (Easter) is considered the second most important holiday in Italy after Mother\u2019s Day \u2026 I mean, Christmas.<\/p>\n Traditionally, it\u2019s a long weekend culminating in Pasquetta, <\/em>the \u201clittle\u201d Easter (whatever that means) on Monday. If the weather is nice, you spend this day in the countryside having a picnic and drinking wine with your friends.<\/p>\n So for this holiday, you can pretty much do as you\u2019d like. As the Italians say: \u201cNatale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi.\u201d<\/em> (Christmas with your family, Easter with whomever you want). Well, within limits.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Like Christmas and other holidays, Easter in Italy comes with its own food traditions. Lunch is the big meal of the day, and lamb is typically served. And eggs, of course. Symbolism is big in Italian culture, but usually there\u2019s a good bit of wiggle room to make the symbols fit your needs. Eggs can either represent the cycle of life and rebirth (Pagan), or the empty tomb of Jesus (Christian). \u00a0The \u201csacrificial lamb,\u201d however, certainly represents the Big J-man. (Seems a bit disrespectful to eat him, though, if you ask me.)<\/p>\n Bread, too, is important, and I remember my own Great-grandmother making a ring-shaped loaf with whole eggs woven into the dough, shell and all. I could never figure out how she did that without the eggs exploding in the oven, or at the very least, getting overcooked to the point of desiccation. They never did, though; it was always perfect, along with everything else that came out of her kitchen.<\/p>\n The chocolate eggs in Italy are truly works of art. Nothing like those Cadbury Eggs filled with a thick sugary syrup made to look like the white and yolk of the egg. Yuck! No, the Italian version is a treat for the eyes as much as the mouth.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve read that the practice of exchanging eggs for Easter can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when it was forbidden to eat animal products during Lent. In later traditions, the eggs were blessed and given to the children as part of a custom called \u201cBenedictio Ovorum,\u201d centuries before the arrival of chocolate in Europe during the late 19th<\/sup> century. Personally, I prefer the modern variety in this case\u2014particularly the modern Italian<\/em> variety.<\/p>\n Not only are they beautiful and delicious, but they contain a surprise gift inside. The\u00a0mass-produced national brands\u00a0contain a little toy or something cute for the children. But you can go to one of the specialty shops and they\u2019ll put whatever you want inside: jewelry, an iPhone, a Fiat 500. You\u2019re only limited by your imagination. (Did I mention that sometimes they’re quite large?)<\/p>\n So you see, Italian\u00a0chocolate eggs aren\u2019t just for amusing the children. Some confectioners have elevated the humble \u201cuova decorate<\/em>\u201d to an art form. I\u2019m sure everybody has their favorite shop in Rome, but without a doubt Valzani (Via del Moro n.37 a\/b) is the most famous.<\/p>\nEggs, Bread, and the Body of Christ<\/h2>\n
Valzani<\/h2>\n