Thanks to its patron saint, the city of Milan can enjoy a special Carnival, which lasts 5 days longer than the traditional one
Italy, as we know, is home to 1000 different traditions. One of these, certainly one of the funniest and most unique, is that of the Ambrosian Carnival. Already because, as the name suggests, the city of Milan celebrates its own Carnival, to the delight of all the children of the City.
What is the Ambrosian carnival and how long does it last?
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The nice thing about the Ambrosian Carnival is that it extends the days of celebration associated with the funniest tradition of the year. If the normal Carnival ends with the Shrove Tuesdaythe day before Ash Wednesday in which the period of penance begins before Easter, the Ambrosian Carnival continues until March 5th. This is because the Milanese tradition takes shape from a story about the patron saint of the city: Saint Ambrosebishop of Milan.
the legend of the carnival of sant’ambrogio
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The reason for this extension is linked to a legend that has Sant’Ambrogio as its protagonist. It is said that once the saint of Milan was engaged in a pilgrimage to Rome and for this he asked his parishioners to wait for his return to start Lent. The bishop delayed his arrival and for this reason the Milanese felt entitled to extend the celebrations by 5 days. For this reason, even today, in the archdiocese of Milan the Rite of Ashes is celebrated on the first Sunday of Lentas happened in the past, and not on Wednesdays, as in the rest of Italy.
the story behind the legend
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The legend has actually often been disputed. According to historians, when Ambrogio was already bishop of Milan, from Rome and therefore from Pope Liberiusthe pronouncement that sanctioned the duration of Lent arrived, 40 days, the same ones passed by Jesus in the desert. Calendar in hand, if Sundays were included in the bill, when one did not fast, the Carnival of five days, as many as there are Sundays in the period of Lent. Therefore, the decision to include Sundays was taken by Ambrogio himself who thus had the power to extend the Carnival by 5 days.
the masks of the Ambrosian carnival: the Milanese
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As it is easy to imagine, even the Milanese Carnival has its masks. The best known and most important is that of Meneghino, a witty and common sense servant who mocks the faults of the nobles and does not flee when he has to side with his people. For this reason, during the insurrection of Five Days of Milan, in 1848, the Meneghino was chosen by the Milanese as a symbol of heroism and representative of the city for its virtues. Today Meneghini is also the other name of the Milanese. The Meneghino wears a long brown jacket, short trousers, red and white striped socks, a three-cornered hat and a wig with a French pigtail. AND a person hasty ways – hence the cliché attributed to Milanese – loves good food and has a sweet tooth for panettone because it reminds him of his city and I know Domm (its “Cathedral”). In the Ambrosian Carnival he is accompanied by his wife, another popular Milanese mask, the so-called Sciura Ceccadialectal diminutive of Francesca.
February 20, 2023 – 10.20 pm
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