The traditional "Carnevale ambrosiano" in Milan, with some things reminding of the Brazilian Carnival.
Meneghino is the main Milanese Carnival character (meneghino, like milanese and ambrosiano, now means = of Milano), other cities have other characters (Pulcinella in Naples, Harlequin and Brighella in Bergamo, etc.).
The name comes from the surname of the servant going with noblewomen for a walk, or to the church.
He is a bit rough but a good, generous person and mostly characterized by honesty, sincerity and a strong sense of justice. To defend his people, he doesn’t run away. He is funny and able to mock aristocratic people. He became a hero, a symbol of the Italian unification.
He is usually represented as wearing these clothes, a cocked three-cornered hat, a pony-tailed wig, red-white striped stockings and an umbrella.
Meneghino’s sincerity is also symbolized by the fact that, unlike most “commedia dell’arte” theatre characters, he doesn’t wear a mask, nor make-up. This makes of him a free character.
The typical Italian sweet treats for Carnival are the “chiacchiere” (= that also means “blah blah”, lol), with powdered sugar… and if you want also Nutella ;P
Posts
