I was checking my site visits and came across the Google French translation, Weird Venise. Those clever Google guys--who knew I had a French blog!
In honor of the upcoming St. Martin's Day (November 11), I'm posting a photo I took two years ago (on St. Martin's Day). These are very popular cakes, made only for this special Venetian holiday. I'm not sure who St. Martin was (I know someone will enlighten me), but it's a great holiday in Venice. (Tip: click on the photo to see the enlarged version)
On the day I took this photo of the special cakes, we followed a group of young school children and three delightful nuns through the calles of Dorsoduro. The children--and the nuns--stopped outside the shops and enthusiastically banged wooden spoons against pots and pot covers. The shopkeeper would give a few coins to the kids and the procession moved onto the next shop.
Venetian children run through the city, banging pots and pans with wooden spoons. It is traditional to reward the children by giving them a few coins. Special cakes depicting St Martin are baked in celebration.
Two years later, I'm still sorry I didn't take a photo of children...
2 comments:
Happy San Martino Day! I'd love to be in Venice for this celebration some day. Love your photo of the cookies.
St. Martin was a 4th century bishop (French, I think) and the first non-martyr saint in history.
http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/annienc/2008/05/san_martino.html
Hello,
In English, it is the equivalent of "Indian Summer". If you can read Italian, here is a link to a definition of San Martino festivities In Venice and other parts of Italy:
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_di_San_Martino
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