Frittelle and galani: the sweets of the Venice Carnival

At Carnival time, Venice fills not only with masks but with the scent of sweet frying. Pastry-shop windows overflow with frittelle and galani, the two signature sweets of the festival. Here's their story, the types to try, where to find them in Cannaregio and how to enjoy them if you stay in an apartment.

🍩 Frittelle (the fritole), queen of the Carnival

The frittella — in dialect fritola — is the Venetian sweet par excellence. In the 18th century it was so beloved that it was proclaimed the "national sweet" of the Serenissima, made by the fritoleri, a guild of fritter-makers with jealously guarded recipes. They are balls of leavened dough, fried and dusted with sugar. The main varieties:

• Classic (Venetian) — with raisins and sometimes pine nuts, scented with orange zest.
• With custard — filled with pastry cream.
• With zabaione — filled with Marsala zabaglione, the most indulgent.
• With cream — filled with whipped cream.

🎀 Galani (elsewhere crostoli, chiacchiere, frappe)

The galani are thin strips of fried dough dusted with icing sugar, light and crisp. It's one of those sweets that changes name from town to town: in Venice and the Veneto galani or crostoli, elsewhere chiacchiere, frappe, bugie or cenci. In Venice the galani tend to be thinner and crunchier — they shatter at a breath. Together with the frittelle, they're the inevitable duo of every Carnival window.

📍 Where to find them in Cannaregio

The good news is you won't have to look: during Carnival every pastry shop, bakery and bar in Venice displays them. In our neighbourhood you'll find them along the Strada Nuova and Rio Terà San Leonardo, a few minutes from Cà Letizia. Our tip: buy them from an artisan pastry shop and eat them freshly fried, still warm — a different thing entirely from the packaged kind.

🏠 Enjoying them in your apartment

One of the pleasures of staying in an apartment in Cannaregio is exactly this: you buy a bag of freshly fried frittelle and galani, head home and savour them at your own pace, perhaps with a small glass of sweet wine or zabaione. It's the most Venetian way to experience Carnival, away from the crowds. Living in Venice like a local starts with breakfast, too.

📅 When you'll find them

Frittelle and galani are seasonal: they appear in pastry shops from late January and run through the whole Carnival period, until Shrove Tuesday (in 2027, 9 February). After that they vanish until the following year — one more reason not to miss them if you come to Venice in those weeks.

To make the most of the festival: our guide to the Venice Carnival (dates and events), the Venetian masks and, for the savoury side, the bacari of Cannaregio.

Carnival in Cannaregio

An apartment a few steps from the pastry shops and the Festa sull'acqua. Send a request early for your dates.