The Carnival of Viareggio!
The idea of celebrating the Carnival in Viareggio blossomed in 1837 among the young well-to-do of the city who decided to start an open-air celebration with a parade of floats. It was on Mardì Gras of that same year that the Viareggio Carnival, as it is known today, was born and it is from then on that the city turned into a fantastic environment, permeated with joy, parties and fun. Every year many colourful floats parade in the centre of the city passing among excited people who are awaiting for this important event. In 1921, after World War I - that had previously stopped the Carnival - the event flourished again, even more splendid and grandiose than before with the coloured floats - real monuments and artworks - parading along the streets and on the beach during those days. The Viareggio Carnival - called "Carnival of Italy and Europe" starting from 2001 - every year attracts lots of visitors from all over the world, people who, delighted of the happy and amusing atmosphere that characterizes the city in every time of the year, come here to see the coloured floats and typical masks' magnificence. The Carnival's symbol is the "Burlamacco", a typical mask created in 1930 by Umberto Bonetti, painter who many times applied his artistic genius to the creation of the Carnival's posters. The Burlamacco is one of the most famous masks of the world and it has a place today, among the Italian carnival figures in Rome at the Folklore and Tradition museum and is on exhibition in Paris at the Musée de l'Homme. But, thanks to the ability of floats' constructors, worldwide aknowledged as "papier-maché wizards", also typical masks coming from foreign countries were created on the occasion of the Viareggio Carnival: just think about the Pierrot, which was the first main mask on a float able to move its head and eyes, in 1923. On the other hand, today the floats' protagonists are just characters taken by the show business and politic world, dressed and presented as unique, funny parodies.
In addition, the "Cittadella del Carnevale" (Carnival Town) was inaugurated in 2001. Located in the plane of Viareggio the Carnival Town represents the celebration's fulcrum. The most important events connected to the Carnival take place here and the curiousest visitors can enter the papier-maché wizard workshops where floats' craftsmen are continuously engaged in the realization of their own creations. During Carnival time you will also find some craftsmen running courses about papier maché work; this is an interesting initiative addressed to people who wish to try an approach towards this singular kind of art.
