January Turin style

We happily greeted 2023 and welcome the year of the rabbit / cat and now we are enjoying Carnival - our Mardi Gras season here in Turin, munching on fritters and sipping hot chocolate.

As it feels that our BC or before Covid19 life was a century ago, to read what our old normal click here.

 

fat week 2022

Happy settimana grassa or fat week dear amici 🎉 This is the week that leads to Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday and the end of the Carnival celebrations in the Roman Catholic countries.
So, we have to take advantage of our culinary seasonal specialties that are basically a giant keto diet before detoxing for the 40 days of Lent 😓

Many of you have been asking about the situation these days and what we are forecasting. Let us remind you that even if Lucia is a Turin insider, she is not a secret agent yet. As a piscean, she does have a strong 6th sense but helas, her powers are limited (she didn't attend Hogwarts... just the Turin University and the OSU) and she doesn't own a crystal ball 😖 ... yet!

This is what we know up to February 22nd 2022.

Our covid19 infections are still quite high, our RT rate is 9.9% but hospitalizations are going down. The booster and children campaigns weren't as successful in Italy but by March 1st we are starting the 4th shot for the immunocompromised. As for the 4th shot for the regular population, we don't have an official press release by the government yet. However, our army general who is in charge of the logistics said today they think it will be in the Fall, maybe starting on late September.

year 3 with covid19

Dear amici, 

happy 2022! This post is for all of you who are wondering where Italy is now and what the situation is like as we have entered our 3rd year of this pandemic.

Piazza Carignano and Luci d'Artista

Mardi Gras season

In Turin though every season is a great season to visit and currently, we are in full Mardi Gras season aka il carnevale 😆

The Italian Holidays officially end on January 6th and that's exactly when in Piedmont we announce the beginning of the Carnival weeks. This is a traditional Roman Catholic celebration that officially ends on Mardi Gras or Martedì Grasso as the local say.

Coffee shop and pasticceria Tamborini, Via Garibaldi 31

Mardi Gras fritters

Very few foods have a huge comforting power: home made Carnival fritters sprinkled with powder sugar are one of those, at least to all Italians 😍

In fact, Carnival like any other holiday is connected to a culinary specialty and wherever you'll go, in Italy as well as, in many other Latin countries, you'll find these fritters.