Carnival of Viareggio

Italian carnival celebration

The Carnival of Viareggio (Italian: Carnevale di Viareggio) is a carnival event annually held in the Tuscan city of Viareggio, Italy. It is considered amongst the most renowned carnival celebrations in both Italy and Europe.

Overview

Its main characteristic is given by the parade of floats and masks, usually made of paper-pulp, depicting caricatures of popular people, such as politicians, showmen, and sportsmen; the parade is held on the Viareggio avenue located alongside the local beach. Every year, the Carnevale di Viareggio attracts more than 500,000 spectators.^[1]

Carnival celebrations are scheduled every weekend night in the city's different quarters or Rioni with the best known bars, restaurants, discos and hotels in Versilia hosting all-night colourful masked parties. Additionally, during the four-week celebration, plays in vernacular language are staged around the city. The carnival has papier-mâché gargantuan allegorical floats with the largest ones weighing about 40 st (560 lb; 254 kg) and reaching 14 m (46 ft). The Carnival Giant Float Parades take place along a 2-kilometre-long (2,000 m) ring set aside Viareggio's Liberty era boardwalk, best known as La Passeggiata.^[2]

History

The first Viareggio Carnival parade was held in 1873,^[3] when some wealthy middle-class men decided to organize a parade of floats adorned with flowers; a number of local citizens, as a sign of protest, then decided to put on masks in order to show their refusal of high taxes they were forced to pay.^[4] The first float to win the parade, in 1883, was named I Quattro Mori ('The Four Moors'), an accurate representation of the Livorno statue of the same name.^[5] The official mascot of the Viareggio Carnival is a Burlamacco, first depicted in 1931 by Uberto Bonetti.^[6] Since 2001, all the floats are built in an apposite seat, called Cittadella del Carnevale ('Carnival Citadel').^[7]

The Carnival stopped being held during the First World War and only resumed in 1921. It stopped again during the Second World War and resumed in 1946.^[8] From that point on, it grew in popularity.

In 1925, for the very first time, local sculptor Antonio d'Arliano employed the paper mould technique on iron and wood scaffolding, thus changing forever the way the structure of Carnival floats would be made. Since then, the use of papier-mâché has become an integral element in the construction of these giant allegorical floats.

In 2019, the Carnival parade gained international attention for a float depicting then U.S. President Donald Trump dressed as the Emperor from Warhammer 40,000. Many floats had satirized Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un at previous parades.^[9]

Cittadella

The impressive complex of the Citadel of the Carnevale di Viareggio was inaugurated in 2001 and is the largest and most important Italian thematic center dedicated to Carnival floats and masks. It houses sixteen large hangars and workshops where the giant floats are built, a laboratory where the art of papier-mâché is taught, three museum areas and a historical photo and film archive and documentation center. At the Citadel of the Carnevale di Viareggio it is possible to visit the Papier Mâché Museum where the breathtaking floats are stored and the Museum of the Carnival that illustrates the over 100-year old history of the Carnevale through original documents, photographs, sketches, posters and models.

Mascot

Burlamacco is the clown-like figure which presides over the Carnival in the Tuscan town of Viareggio, and is the town's mascot.^[6] Burlamacco was first depicted in 1931 by Uberto Bonetti; a competition had been held for the design of the mascot and his was the winning entry. He had chosen the red and white of the outfit from the traditional colours of the umbrellas on the beach at Viareggio and the name came 8 years later; it is derived from the Burlamacca River. To this day Burlamacco remains a feature of the Carnival and there is a statue of him all the year round on the Lungomare in Viareggio.

Carnival of Viareggio, Italy, 2019
Carnival of Viareggio, Italy, 2019

References

^ Morgans, Katie (7 February 2024). "Why You Need To See The "Carnival of Viareggio" Float Parade". The Italy Edit. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
^ Kreider, Laura (13 February 2020). "Carnival celebrations in Italy". United States Army. Retrieved 11 June 2024. This carnival, created in 1873, is still characterized by giant allegorical papier-mâché floats, the biggest ones weighing about 40 tons and reaching 14 meters in length.
^ "CarnivalleDiViareggio - History". viareggio.ilcarnevale.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
^ Pagani, Maria Pia (5 March 2017). "The Gigantic Float Parades for the Carnival of Viareggio". The Theatre Times. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
^ Terracino, Anna (26 January 2018). "Carnival celebrations in Italy". United States Army. Retrieved 11 June 2024. The first float to win the parade in 1883 was named I Quattro Mori (The Four Moors), representing the homonymous Livorno statue.
^ ^a ^b "Viareggio's Carnival: history, info and tips". viareggio.ilcarnevale.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
^ "Viareggio Carnival Citadel". Carnevale di Viareggio. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
^ "Carnivalle di Viareggio - Burlamacco". www.visittuscany.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
^ Law, Tara (February 10, 2019). "Massive Emperor Trump Float Presides Over Italian Carnival". Time. Retrieved July 14, 2021.