CARNEVALE DI VIAREGGIO – Parades – Cancelled

The three cannon shots will kick off at 144th year of the Viareggio Carnival Sunday, February 5, at 15:00, with the Great Course Masked Opening. The giant floats will be back on the Viali a Mare Sunday, February 12 for the second course Masked which will begin at 15:00. Third parade on Saturday 18 February at 17:00 at night edition. Fourth Course Masked Sunday, February 26 at 15:00. While the grand finale is scheduled for February 28 Mardi Gras day with the Course Masked Closing Night, which will begin at 15:00 and will end with the announcement of the verdicts of the juries and the extraordinary spectacle closing fireworks.

They start from the hangars at Citadella del Carnevale and parade along  the whole seafront of Versilia's main town. Floats made “‹”‹of papier-mache for the Viareggio's Carnival, the most spectacular in Tuscany, one of the most famous in Europe and in the world.

From papier-mache to fiberglass, "recovering " the experiences of Viareggio's shipwrights, the artisans perform with their huge creations animated by a team of 20-30 people, large masked groups consisting of an average of 200 elements and a band with a minimum of 10 musicians. They all put themselves out to win the prizes awarded by the Carnival Foundation.

From the seventies onwards, the dominant theme of the allegorical contructions has been the political satire, flanked by fantastic themes. The two categories of floats in the competition, the group-masks and the isolated masks, these last ones usually made by young emerging artists, challange also through phantasy and satyre.

In the evening the party continues: in the streets of the districts and in the town clubs all masks are welcome. Here is played cheerful music and you can dance until late at night. Last but not least there are many parallel programs in which the real nature of Viareggio stands out: The "Festival of Canzonetta", the "Festival of Burlamacco", "Canzonissima di Carnevale" to name but a few.

Absolutely not to be missed are the event opening ceremony on Satruday February 4 and the two spectacular fireworks on Saturday February 18 and on Sunday February 28.