From Armenian CooCoo to una cena di Pasqua Italiana

Easter has always been a good-feeling holiday…there’s no fuss, no long preparation, no present stress. It’s a holiday filled with early church goers, family, cute pastel dresses and the best holiday mascot…the Easter Bunny!

Italian Easter was different then the coocoo, zook, egg games I am accustom to from my Armenian background…I woke up early in the morning…took my time getting ready, wore my favorite green dress and took a walk. At 10am I ended up at Il Duomo, the center of Florence where the traditional “Scoppio del Carro” festivity was to take place at 11. The place was filled with every single Florentinian and tourist so my view of the celebration was slim to none.

Scoppio del Carro, the exploding cart, is an old Easter Florence tradition that dates back to the first crusade to the holy lands in 1099 AD. The crusade was set to liberate the holy sepulture from the pagans, the first soldier Pazzino dei Pazzi climbed the city walls and held the Dukes banner for all to see…in this act of courage dei Pazzi was rewarded 3 pieces of rock from Christ’s tomb. From then on ever Saturday before Easter Sunday, the Bishop would light a fire with sparks from these holy rocks and would carry it throughout the city lighting a fire in every home he passed…the burning fire would symbolize dei Pazzi’s courage and purify the homes and families that lived there. Being a part of Italian tradition that dates back to 1099AD was awe-inspiring and absolutely unbelievable.

 I spent Easter dinner with Jenna and her Mom and Pop which reminded me of my family and made my heart smile. We went to their amazing hotel, Monna Lisa to have a few drinks and then had dinner at Il Paoli Restaurante which was once a church! Everything was perfect the food, the drinks, and the company. Thank you D’Argenzio’s for making my Pasqua Italiana so very special.

MISS YOU BROWNIE AND ASHTON! 

Emilia