Everyone knows that Venice has a famously enchanting Carnevale season. All masks and pageantry and secrets- so befitting of the misty canals and darkened back alleys that dominate this unlikely island city. Notably though, Venice is not the only Italian city that boasts uniquely traditional pre-Lenten festivities to usher in the 40 days of fasting and abstinence before Easter.

Naples, as the former capitol of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, is home to countless carnivalesque rites and rituals that date back over 1,000 years. Many of these traditions, like those of Naples' sister cities to the North, feature fertility rites and gluttonous feasts as a way to stave off or counter-balance the stark period of Lenten fasting to come before Easter.