Where and when does the story "The Cask of Amontillado" take place?

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" never clearly states where or when it is set. In paragraph three of the short story, Poe says, "Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. ...Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack, but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. " From this we learn that Fortunato was Italian, so we may assume that the story takes place in Italy, but there is no indisputable evidence of...

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" never clearly states where or when it is set. In paragraph three of the short story, Poe says, "Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. ...Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack, but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. " From this we learn that Fortunato was Italian, so we may assume that the story takes place in Italy, but there is no indisputable evidence of that. In the course of the story, the narrator compares the catacombs they are going into to the catacombs of Paris, so while that emphasizes the European influence, it does not necessarily change the setting.

The time of the short story is also unstated in the text. Poe does clearly delineate that the action takes place during carnival season, which is like Mardi Gras. However, we are not given any hints as to which year, other than the reference from the narrator at the end of the story that Fortunato has not been disturbed "for the half of a century..." so the story obviously is intended to be set at least 50 years prior to the telling of the tale.