Carnival in Gozo
Last week was carnival week – a feast with huge importance in the Maltese cultural calendar!
The rather traditional carnival celebrations in Gozo mainly take place in the capital Victoria as well as Nadur. Colourful carnival floats made up papier-mâché in such huge proportions that you find yourself wondering how their ingenious makers get all the little details right!
Carnival in Nadur 2010
But by nightfall Nadur transforms and becomes an enormous crowd-puller, with its by now famous “spontaneous carnival”. A little advice: avoid visiting on the Saturday – there’s hardly space to breathe, leave alone move; Sunday and Monday will be just fine!
Revellers in their tens of thousands (!) from near and far roam through the streets, and there are no rules as to what to wear; you don’t even have to dress up at all. The village becomes a stage of the weird and wonderful, many participants transforming themselves with amazing imagination, often not giving away who is behind the masquerade. Here are a few impressions of what there was to see at the carnival in Nadur in 2010:
I’ve also put together a small video that includes the above and many more:
Prinjolata, Malta’s carnival sweet
Prinjola = stone-pine tree
Prinjol-ata = of pine nuts
A few weeks before carnival, the local carnival sweet starts appearing in the shelves of sweets shops and supermarkets around the islands. It is a very sweet and rich kind of cake, which I’m always looking forward to; you just won’t find it at any other time of the year! It is instantly recognisable by its peculiar shape…
Are you interested in what actually goes into it – or even make one yourself? Then have a look at this prinjolata recipe!
Carnival in Gozo 2011
Maybe (what am I saying… hopefully!) this post has started you thinking about coming to Gozo to see the craziness of our carnival for yourself? The dates of next year’s carnival are from 4th until 8th March 2011 – so close to spring that it will make for a perfect extended weekend break away from northern Europe’s winter! And why not spoil yourself a little and complement the merrymaking in Nadur with a relaxing stay at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz? A little tip: bookmark the special offers page! 
