A Festive Carnevale Tablescape!

 That magical time of year has rolled around again, where we begin Lent and can look forward to Spring. Carnevale, much like the French Mardi Gras is a beloved celebration in Italian culture. In fact, while many associate the celebration more with Venice, the longest running Carnevale celebrations in Italy are actually held near the town of Puglia in the Calabrese region where my ancestors migrated from. While we now only celebrate one night with a decadent meal and good wine, some areas of Italy still revel in the celebrations for weeks or even months leading up to Ash Wednesday.

Just as in years past, I tried to bring in many elements and colors of the traditions into my tablescape. The traditional colors of course are purple and gold. It is also customary to throw beads just as it is in the French celebration, but Carnevale is most widely known for its elaborate masks. Within the Carnevale celebration the masks are in fact worn to hide one's identity as it is the only time of year as well that the classes intermingle in the festivities. 

On the mantle I also added a bead element as well as displaying my own Venetian made Carnevale mask.

I added a mask even onto the chicken fruit bowl I often change up for different holidays. Inside I decorated using glittery gold and purple picks as well as beads. I thought leaving the wine decor around was fitting as well.

For the table setting, I used my everyday Fiesta dishes for a bright color element with gold chargers underneath. In the center, I used a Venetian style jester bowl. I strewed beads coming out of this as well and just used some colorful netting as filler around a glittery picks with purple candles. 

Let me know in the comments below if you celebrate Carnevale, or Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday? What do you do for the festivities? Also be sure to subscribe to receive notice of future posts. 

Buon Carnevale!