The Carnival of Viareggio (Province of Lucca, Tuscany) is, together with that of Venice and Ivrea, one of the most famous in Italy. This year it takes place from Sunday 9 February to Tuesday 4 March 2025: it is a spectacular event born back in 1873 that combines art, culture and entertainment with the Mastontics parade Allegorical papier -mâché floats and the appointment of the winning wagon. There city of Viareggio It attracts public from all over the world with a whole month of parties, fashion shows, veglions and entertainment. Carnival is a festival of ancient origin, characterized by fashion shows in maskdances, shows and popular events. Traditionally it represents the period before the beginning of Lent, the fasting and penance phase that precedes Easter in the Christian tradition.
The history of the Viareggio Carnival from 1873 to today
It is February 25, 1873, Grasso Tuesday: along the Via Regia, in the heart of the old city of Viareggiofor the first time they parade decorated and carriages that celebrate the carnival. Thus was born historical tradition who, year after year, came up to us: in 1905 the parade moved to the promenade and, after a six -year break due to First World Warin 1921 the musician and conductor Icilio Sadun He composes the first song for the Carnival, accompanied by the words of Lelio Maffei. Each edition of this event, in fact, is accompanied by a specific song: today all the songs are collected in the golden register. In the same year, the magazine that still tells the Carnival was born.
In the following years, masks and wagons become more and more elaborate, refined and spectacular: in 1923 the huge wagon dedicated to Pierrot is animated by mechanical movementsand the famous mask seems almost to come to life between the amazement of the audience. The great innovation then came in 1925, when the artist Antonio D’Arliano develops the use of the papier -mâché – which then evolved into the Calcum paper – To make masks and characters of increasingly large and increasingly lighter size.
At the turn of the Second World War The carnival stops for another five years, and then resumed in 1946. This forced break allows artists and the city to rethink the carnival even bigger. A new, big news arrives in 1954: the carnival is broadcast in televisionand in 1958 even in Eurovision. In 1973 the centenary With a pyrotechnic and memorable edition dedicated to peace and dialogue between the peoples and in 1984 the National Lottery of Viareggio It is combined with the wagons competition. 2001 is then a year of great turning point for the city: in fact, the Citadel of Carnival is built, the largest theme park in Europe dedicated to masks, a space specially designed by the architect Francesco Tomassi.
The Carnival of Viareggio is therefore a tradition that resists time and which is renewed year after year, also thanks to the establishment of a foundation that deals with the organization of the event, which sees participants From all over the world.
Papier -mâché wagons: how large they are and how they are made
The floats of the Viareggio Carnival are enormous and spectacular papier -mâché workshigh about 20 meters and about 12 wide. Represent images allegoricalwho tell Stories, traditions, vices and virtues of the human soul, famous people with their qualities and critical issues, and they don’t even spare the political satire.
Real Soul of the eventthe wagons are built in papier -mâchématerial that, as we mentioned, was designed specifically in 1925: one artisanal processing By the master car manufacturers, Viareggio and deeply expressive, based on the versatility of artistic interpretation and also on the fundamental reuse of materials. In fact it is said that “All world news arrives in Viareggio”precisely because to make the wagons with the calcio paper they are used every year about 5 tons of newspaper pages, then knead with water, glue And Flour. The manufacturers of Viareggio wagons are real craftsmen, who make their art available to this event, and are consortium in 21 specialized companies to work within the Citadel.
Among the mask born right on the occasion of the Viareggio Carnival we find Burlamaccomade for the first time in 1931: similar to a clown, with a long red and white checkered suit, a feluca hat on the head and a black cloak that discovers his shoulders, is one of the masks now famous all over the world as symbol of the event. His partner is Oninacreature dressed in blue and red, which symbolizes the seaexpressing the bond of the city with the waves that bathe it.
How the chariot race works and how the winner is voted
The Carnevaland ends with the proclamation of the winning wagons: every year in fact they parade 9 first category wagons, 5 of the second category, 9 masked in groups And 9 isolated masks. The winners decreed is the Carnival jurycomposed in turn by two groups of jurors, one for the first and second category buildings and one for group masks and isolated masks.
The jurors are personalities of different types, all coming from outside Viareggio, appointed byBoard of Directors from the Foundation organizing the carnival: artists, directors, characters from the world of entertainment, art and culture, but also students, cartoonists, scholars, journalists and cultural operators in various capacities (here you can consult the jury of 2024). The jurors express their preferences On a card with a scorewhich is then added.
