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Visit our other Carnival related
pages: Romance
in Venice at the Venice Carnival, Via
Reggio Carnival,History
of the Venetian Mask, Venice
Carnival, Venice and Traditional
Italian Carnival Recipes
Italian Events &
Festivals
The Viareggio Carnival
Italy's most celebrated carnival, the Carnevale Di
Viareggio has been bringing revelry to thousands of
people for 135 years. It has endured two World Wars and
continues to flourish with the many innovative and
creative additions to the celebration.
The Viareggio Carnival is a month-long celebration
characterized by spectacular masked balls, festive
district parties, Italian musical comedies and
restaurants each featuring a sampling of Italian
cuisine. There are also sports events but the most
famous is the International Junior Soccer Tournament
Carnival Cup.
The carnival has entertainment and
fun activities that both adults and children can enjoy
but the main feature is the procession of floats
carrying huge paper mache images of public, political
and entertainment figures. On these floats, people and
children ride and throw confetti to the spectators.
The crowd can also get a chance to view the Burlamacco,
the carnival's official image. The Burlamacco is a clown
wearing a combination of clothing and accessories taken
from, among others, a Harlequin costume and an outfit
from Pierrot. The show is an animated presentation as
the effigies move to the beat of lively music.
The Carnevale Di Viareggio's roots are of a political
nature and to this day, the festival showcases a parody
of prominent personalities and brings to light issues to
show the dissatisfaction of the people with the status
quo.
It was founded in February 1873 when some local
gentlemen decided to hold a procession of floats that
were to march down the city's main street. During that
time, a masked demonstration was also taking place in
protest of the taxes imposed upon the people. During the
demonstration, the protesters poked fun at the tax
collector, and thus was born the Carnevale Di Viareggio.
The first floats and figures were made of wood, plaster
and jute. Modern-day versions are now made of paper
mache to make for lighter figures that can be made to
move and hover. The floats are prepared and created so
meticulously that float makers devote a year to their
construction. In 1921, the official carnival song,
"Cup of Champagne" was first sung. In 1923 the event
launched Pierrot, its first-ever moving figure who is
able to move its eyes and head.
In 1930, Uberto Bonetti created the Burlamacco and this
became the official carnival mask. The year 2001 saw
another major milestone in the carnival's history, the
launching of the Citadel. This is a massive site that
houses hangars where the floats can be constructed, a
school for paper mache making and an arena where
cultural performances are held.
This year's carnival theme is that of peace, love and
solidarity. The highlight will once again be the huge
floats divided into categories. The 1st category floats
are the biggest ones carrying around 200 people, who
will be throwing out confetti and candies to the crowd
as they dance to
the beat of the music.
Other people inside the float are given the task of
operating the controls that will make the effigies move.
The 2nd category floats are smaller in size. There are
also two masquerades, an experimental float and smaller
district festival floats. The parade will also feature
performances from bands specializing in folklore types
of music and groups from all over the world.
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