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The Viareggio Carnival was established
in 1873 when some of the local "signori" decided
to organize a Sunday a little different from the rest, by
inventing a procession of decorated floats which travelled
up and down the main street of the city. On that occasion
a masked protest was also organized by a number of citizens,
as they were forced to pay too many taxes and as a result
the chief tax collector was certainly made fun of!!
The parade was liked alot not only
by the patrons but also by the citizens and the idea of
making floats that interpreted humour and disatisfaction
of the people came about in that year.
Since then Viareggio has become the home
of the Italian Carnival, with its masked parades characterized
by allegorical floats in papermache. These floats are true
works of art to which the local float makers dedicate an
entire year of workmanship. There is not one politician,
entertainer, or intellectual that has not been a target
(protagonist) of one of these floats which almost comes
to life during the parade by the moving arms, opening and
closing mouths and rolling eyes. On every float young people
and children find a place from which to throw confetti and
shooting stars to the crowd.
During the entire period masked balls and parties in the
various "rioni" (quarters, districts) are organized
as well as numerous sports and cultural events i.e. "Torneo
Internazionale giovanile di calcio
The official Viareggio Carnival mask
is the "Burlamacco", a clown which wears clothes
taken from other Italian masks: checkered overalls, taken
from the Harlequin's costume, a white ponpon stolen from
Pierrot's big puffy blouse, a white gorget - "Captain
Scary" style, a red headband and a black mantle.
The name Burlamacco
derives from Buffalmacco a Florentine painter and a character
in the "Decamerone". However, it is also said
to be linked to the Lucchese surname Burlamacchi.
 The
word "Carnevale" (?Carnival? in English) derives
from the Latin "carnem levare", which means to
take away meat, with reference to the period of penitence
following this festival. Carnevale has very ancient origins,
perhaps as far back as Greek orgy fests and the Saturnalian
Roman parties.
The word Carnevale for many years
has come to be associated with exotic places such as Rio
de Janeiro or the welcoming, lively Viareggio. At the close
of the 19th century the small city of Viareggio, which had
become a Commune of United Italy in 1870, counted some eleven
thousand inhabitants dedicated to agricultural activities
or connected with seaside establishments. It was in this
period that Viareggio institutionalized its Carnevale: the
festival, previously celebrated inside theaters and bars
with masked balls, took on a much more liberating character.
All of the city?s social classes were united on the street
for a festive masked procession followed by dances, lunches,
dinners, parties and spirited jaunts around town. In addition
there were the traditional pranks of Martedi Grasso (Fat
Tuesday, Mardi Gras) during which time it was customary
to play jokes (in a kindly manner) with the local authorities.
The Carnevale of Viareggio soon became a Carnevale
of the people: it was absolutely normal to view
the carriages of the nobles and those of the farmers at
only a few meters from one another. In subsequent years
the idea took hold to mount allegorical puppets on the floats.
After the delicate social-political passage between the
19th and 20th centuries and difficulties following the First
World War, there developed the tradition to model colossal
structures in paper casts, a practice made famous by several
able designers and builders. The talented visionaries included
the painter Antonio D?Arliano (known as ?The Color Magician?),
the artist Alfredo Pardini, the sculptor and sketch artist
Alfredo Morescalchi (to whome an entire museum was dedicated
in the city of Detroit; he also worked with Ingmar Bergman).
Later Sergio Baroni, Silvano Avanzini, Arnaldo Galli and
Giovanni Lazzarini came to be promoters of technical and
above all ideological innovation.
There are in fact two schools of thought among float
builders: the romantics (illustrators
of legendary stories, of good humor, of beauty and color)
and the verists (imbued with social-political
messages and contents, sometimes denouncing the system,
whose merciless irony often touched on rebellion). The political
regime often tried to stop, whenever possible, the exuberance
of the second group. The real halt of activities came with
the brutality of the Second World War: the city of Viareggio
was almost completely razed to the ground. After an arduous
period of social adjustment and building reconstruction,
the Carnevale of Viareggio returned to animate the streets
of the little seaside city. In the Carnevale of 1954 there
was the first appearance of the libecciata, Viareggio?s
first folklore group.
 Guiding
the carnival procession, the libecciata assumed the role
of messenger from the world of the allegorical floats, which
during this period came to embody the new spirit of the
festival. Their communications combined both romantic and
verist schools of thought. Along with the allegorical floats
the public was able to admire, at the close of Theaters
and casinos or in stands constructed for the occasion, stars
of the caliber of Sofia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida (elected,
respectively in ?55 and ?56, ?Queen of Cinema and of Carnevale?).
In the ?80s the Fondazione Carnevale was created, thanks
to which personages such as Roberto Benigni, Lorella Cuccarini,
Beppe Grillo and Peppino Di Capri took part in the festivities.
In 1989 there was the first Maschereide, a unrivalled group
of comic masqueraders from the Commedia dell?Arte, led by
a Burlamacco drum major and accompanied by a large group
of instrumentalists (mostly wind instruments, for practical
reasons) and majorettes.
Masqueraders and majorettes alike
follow a suggestive choreography. All participants, from
musicians to sound-effects men, dress in gaudy, brightly
colored and altogether unforgettable costumes. Extremely
vivacious and quite deservingly famous,
the Carnevale of Viareggio
is today an event of international importance, attracting
throngs of impassioned and curious people from all over
the wold.
Carnevale - Carnival - Carnaval 2003
16 Febbraio - February - Februar
23 Febbraio - February - Februar
2 Marzo - March - März
4 Marzo - March - März
9 Marzo - March - März |
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