To celebrate the end of Carnival on martedì grasso (or Shrove Tuesday as it is often called) there are a series of initiatives aimed at Rome's international community on Tuesday 12 February.

The international social club Expats Living in Rome is holding a Wig & Mask aperitif, beginning at 20.30 at TrentaTre Lounge on Via di Monte Testaccio 33.

Fellow international social club Friends in Rome invites its friends to dress up and eat French crêpes. It is holding a "masquerade aperitivo with the chance to socialise and network while mingling with an international crowd" at N'Importe Quoi library cafè on Via Beatrice Cenci 10 at 20.30.

The Abbey Theatre Irish pub on Via del Governo Vecchio 51 has live music from 23.00 and prizes for its best-dressed customers while nearby Scholars Lounge on Via del Plebiscito 101 is holding a Karaoke Carnival Party from 22.30.

Rome's annual carnival season also concludes on the evening of 12 February, with a series of colourful events in Piazza del Popolo from 15.30, culminating in a firework display over Pincio at 19.30. For full details see the Carnevale Romano website. 

Commonly referred to by English speakers as “Pancake Tuesday”, Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian season of Lent, and traditionally is seen as the last chance for revellery before 40 days of abstinence and fasting leading up to Easter.

This year's Lenten season in Rome begins against the backdrop of the shock announcement of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 11 February.