On the 11th November in Venice you may encounter groups of kids hitting pots and pans to celebrate St Martin.
The festival of St. Martin is very important in Venice and has a long tradition.
The cult of this saint is in fact very old, since the church itself was actually founded in the eighth century, perhaps by refugees from the city of Ravenna, where the cult was followed.
In ancient times it was customary on St. Martin’s Day to eat and drink seasonal products, such as chestnuts and wine, but then it became a party related to children who, like the English-speaking peers on Halloween, went around looking for treats.
Unfortunately it is a tradition that is disappearing, but nowadays on 11thNovember you can still meet children around Venice with paper crowns on their heads making a lot of noise beating pots and pans with wooden spoons and counting on the generosity and friendliness of shopkeepers to give them a little bit of money.
In addition, bakers display delicious ‘San Martini’ biscuits and cakes made of short crust pastry, covered in icing, chocolate and sweets and representing the Saint on horseback as he prepares to cut the coat to be offered to the poor man. But also Venetian mothers cook it for their children and friends…
