(By Laura Clarke).
Millions of Italians turned
their hand to pastry-making as Carnival celebrations reached
their climax on Tuesday, with spectacular events in the northern
cities of Ivrea and Venice and seizures of fake Carnival toys
grabbing the headlines.
According to Italian farmers' association Coldiretti, as
many as 32 million people may have had a go at making one of the
many regional sweet specialities traditionally consumed in the
run-up to the 40-day Lenten period of fasting and prayer before
Easter as Italy struggles to emerge from its longest and deepest
recession since the Second World War.
These include frappe and castagnole in Lazio, berlingozzi
and cenci in Tuscany, brugnolus and orillettas in Sardinia,
chiacchiere in Basilicata and grostoi in Trentino, to name a
few.
Using simple ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter,
honey and eggs it is possible to spend less than 5 euros per kg,
Coldiretti said.
This compares to between 15 and 30 euros per kg for the
equivalent sweets bought from a pastry shop.
Meanwhile media reported that 142 people suffered mild
injuries on Sunday on the first day of 'fighting' in the
historic three-day battle of the oranges marking Carnival in the
Piedmont town of Ivrea.
Eight of the injured required medical first aid treatment.
Roughly 20,000 people turned out to watch the first day of
what is in essence Italy's largest food fight, when nine combat
teams of townspeople throw oranges at each other supposedly to
commemorate medieval Ivrea's defiance against its tyrant.
Spectator numbers were slightly down on last year due to a
combination of bad weather and a hike in ticket price from 5 to
8 euros, reports said.
Also on Sunday, thousands of people in Venice's St Mark's
square gazed skywards to watch Italian paralympic athlete Giusy
Versace perform the traditional Flight of the Eagle in the
culmination of Carnival celebrations in the lagoon city.
Versace, who lost both legs in a car accident in 2005,
descended from the top of the bell tower to the centre of the
square in what she described as "a huge sensation".
"Today is a day that I will never forget," she said.
"I know I am the first disabled person to make the flight
from the bell tower and so I want to take this opportunity to
remind everyone that life is so beautiful that we sometimes
forget to live it. So, regardless of events, let's try to be
happy and live," the athlete added.
Meanwhile Rome finance police said Tuesday they had seized
7.7 million counterfeit or unsafe masks, costumes, toys and
other items in a pre-Carnival sweep in the capital.
The confiscated items were destined for sale in Rome's
Esquilino, San Giovanni and San Lorenzo neighborhoods and the
Naples hinterland and had an estimated market value of over 35
million euros.
The seizure came on top of the over 20,000 Carnival items
confiscated by police in various cities up and down the country
over the last fortnight.
In total 12 people - one Italian and 11 Chinese nationals -
were fined and reported to the judicial authorities as a result
of the operations.
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