On Shrove Tuesday the Sardinian village of Mamoiada holds a traditional street festival. Villagers dance and enjoy Italian food and drink.
Shrove Tuesday sees the culmination of a Sardinian carnival, where traditional Italian cuisine is enjoyed on the streets. The Carnival of Mamoiada, a village near Nuoro in Sardinia, dates back hundreds of years. It probably has its origins in pagan rituals – but is associated with the coming of Lent today. It’s a great time to sample Italian food and drink.
During the carnival the ‘Mamuthones’ – and ‘Issohadores’ show themselves in the streets. These are traditional masks - and the most important feature of the carnival. On Shrove Tuesday the masquerades take place in the streets. The Mamuthones and Issohadores parade slowly, and a puppet known as ‘Juanne Martis Seros’ is placed on a cart and led through the streets. Later villagers dance until midnight, and women and children cook pork lard and beans in large pans and serve the stew in the streets. The traditional Sardinian meal is accompanied by glasses of ‘vinu nigheddu’ – or red wine. This will probably be the local favourite, cannonau. You may also see sweets, including Tonara, a well known Sardinian nougat – and a traditional bread called spianada. This is a very soft, round bread.
Sardinia has a distinctive, traditional cuisine – which varies in different parts of the island. The island has around 30 different types of bread alone. As well as spianada, you might see pane carasau – often known as ‘carta di musica’ (music paper). This is a very thin, crispy toasted bread – once an important part of the diet of the local shepherds. The best known Sardinian wine is Vernaccia, which is similar to sherry. The dry variety can be drunk as an aperitif, while the sweet variety is served as a dessert wine.
