EASTER IN FLORENCE & ITALY

“Scoppio del Carro” (Explosion of the Cart) is Florence’s most renowned Easter tradition, dating back hundreds of years.
Every year, for Easter, a colorful cart full of fireworks called “Brindellone” gets paraded through Florence, pulled by two oxen adorned with flowers, and arrives in front of the Santa Maria del Fiore church. At 11 am, after Easter mass, a rocket in the shape of a white dove (colombina) flies on a wire from the cart to the altar, where a small fuse attached to it is lit up. The white dove should then fly back to the cart lighting the fireworks and starting the beautiful display of lights. It is Florentine superstition that if the dove “comes back” to light up the cart, the following harvest will be plentiful and the city will overall have good luck. Interestingly, on Easter morning in 1966 (the year that had a devastating flood in November), the white dove stopped before getting back to the cart.
The connection between Florence, Easter, and fire, however, is way older than the Scoppio del Carro. Legend has it that in 1101, after the first crusade, Florentine captain Pazzino dei Pazzi brought back three small rocks from the Holy Sepulcher, which he used to light up a cart from where he distributed “new fire” to citizens to re-kindle the hearth in their homes after Easter, as a sign of purification. The Pazzi family later had the Brindellone made in the 1400s to provide not only the fire but also a spectacle for the local population on Easter morning.
The Scoppio del Carro is a very popular event among Florentines, so make sure to get there early to find a spot with the best view!

Easter is widely celebrated in the Italy by virtue of being both a religious fastivity and a national holiday. Easter Sunday and Monday (in Italian “Pasquetta”, which means “little Easter”) are a time in which religious Italians attend mass and the population in general relaxes and indulges in delicious food. For many, lamb is the go-to choice for Easter lunch, where it is served roasted with potatoes. For those who don’t particularly enjoy the taste of lamb, roast beef is usually the most popular option.
The “pièce de résistance” of Easter lunch, however, usually comes at the end of the meal, when Italians eat “colomba”, a traditional cake baked in the shape of a dove. Colomba’s dough includes candied orange cubes, raisins and almonds, that decorate the top of the cake together with sugar sprinkles.
For young and old there are also Easter eggs. Contrary to the small chocolate eggs found in the U.S., chocolate Easter eggs in Italy are bigger and empty, save for a small box that contains a present. They can be purchased in any supermarket around Easter time and usually come in dark or milk chocolate. In recent years we have seen a rise in more “creative” eggs, made with pistachios or decorated with white chocolate and nuts. While most people just break the chocolate eggs down the middle, children especially get creative with it: some will karate-chop the egg or even break it with their heads!

CORTONA

Popularized by the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun”, Cortona is a charming small town near Arezzo. Cortona is rich with history: its roots are Etruscan, but the town has held importance during Roman times, throughout the Middle Ages and today is a popular spot to enjoy the Tuscan countryside.

Getting there: There are frequent regional trains from Florence SMN station to Camucia-Cortona, which is 2 miles from Cortona proper. To get to the town there are frequent busses from the train station.

EATING TUSCAN

Cacciucco is quite possibly the most famous dish coming out of Livorno. It is a fish soup that you can find in every seafood restaurant in the city. Cacciucco is made with shellfish and other fish that can vary depending on availability and time of the year. The fish is cut into small chunks and cooked in a broth of fish stock that often includes tomatoes, carrots, garlic, leeks, salt, and pepper. A local legend attributes the paternity of the cacciucco to a lighthouse operator in Livorno, who, seeing how using oil to cook fish was forbidden (the oil was necessary to keep the lighthouse lit), decided to cook pieces of fish in broth, thus creating the famous dish. When in Livorno, eating cacciucco is a must!
Where to eat it: It’s not a typical meal in Florence, but if you want to try the best one in town, you should probably go to Da Nicola Pesce & Carne in Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 28/30.