Piedmont is the land of carnival. Here is the historic and colossal one, that is Santhià Carnival. From February 6 to 13, it fills the soul with beauty, the beauty of floats and masks, but also fills the stomach with goodness like fagiolata. There are no adjectives that better describe the event. Historical because there are documents in the city archives that confirm that already in the first years of the 14th century in Santhià there was a secular youth association “Abadia” responsible for organizing dances and celebrations on the occasion of the carnival. The numbers speak for themselves: 2000 participants. More than 50 allegorical floats. 50 heaters. Thousands of masks, but above all 150 copper cauldrons erected on perches for the colossal Fagiuolata. 20,000 divided doses. And if the fagiolata is the highlight from a gastronomic point of view, what most characterizes the folklore of the event are two figures: Stevulin dla Plisera and Majutin dal Pampardù. The legend tells of a pair of young farmers who came to town on their honeymoon and were given the keys to the town by the local lord to run and manage Santhià for three days. This year will be a carnival of redemption with new swimmers and distinguished guests such as Francesca Bergesio, Miss Italia, Chiara Squaglia, correspondent for Striscia la Notizia, and Gaetano Triggiano, internationally renowned illusionist.
Also in Piedmont, the Borgosesia Carnival takes place:
“A CARNIVAL OF ALL… AND FOR EVERYONE”. Carnival dedicated to inclusion. The parades, which have always been the pride of the event with large and choreographed papier-mâché floats, walking masqueraders and groups of guests, are always free to enter. There will be the historic “Busecca”: around 6,000 portions of the characteristic tripe-based dish. Another successful initiative is the “Magunella Bierfest”, a weekend dedicated to typical Bavarian food and wine, which is taking place for the 18th time this year. Unmissable is the 171st year of the Mercu Scûrot, the most traditional and famous event of the Borgosesia carnival, with thousands of participants, all strictly in tailcoats and top hats, “mourning” the end of the carnival.
Wherever you go, you will find tradition. We are in the province of Bolzano, in Salorn, just 10 kilometers from Egna. Here is a special carnival for the history it has and for the participation it brings. In addition to the protagonist, two floats from Egna will also make it special: “Schneider fa Neimorkt” – Tailor from Egna and “Etschurfer fa Neimorkt” – rowers from Egna.
The Salorna carnival is characterized by perkeo:
It is actually called “El Carneval del Perkeo”. The origins of this parade date back to the 19th century, when a carnival was organized in Salorn, which was inspired by that of Egetmann in Termen. And who would be Perkeo? It is said that Clemens Pankert or Giovanni Clementi known as Perkeo was born in Salorn in 1702 and became court jester of Charles III. Philip Falký in Heidelberg. His main occupation was the work of a barrel guard in the cellars of Heidelberg Castle. His name comes from the phrase “Why not?”, the answer he gave to anyone who offered him a glass of wine. Perkeus is said to have died after drinking water instead of wine. During the carnival season, the clown Perkeo begins his reign in the city of Salorno with a great parade. 400 people cooperate and participate in the creation of the procession with which the picturesque figure enters Salorno with great pomp on Shrove Saturday, while three days later, on Shrove Tuesday, he returns the keys to the mayor again. And everyday life returns to the city.
At the foot of Terminillo, in beautiful Leonessa, here are the masks that will cheer up the Carnival of Lazio. On Saturday 10 February from 21:00 there is a party at the Teatrino di San Pietro organized by Pro Loco. Instead, on Sunday, February 11, from 3:30 p.m., the little ones will become the protagonists with a meeting in the square on April 7, 1944. On Shrove Tuesday, February 13, it is the turn of the swimming parade organized by the boys of Leonessa. Leonessa is a magnificent center located at about a thousand meters above sea level in the great basin of the Apennines, in fact it has preserved the appearance of a medieval town: a massive portico in the main square in which the beautiful parish fountain of Margaret of Austria and noble palaces of the 16th and The 17th century bears witness to the flourishing economic development of Leonessa in the Renaissance. Among its most important monuments are the churches of Santa Maria del Popolo, San Francesco and San Pietro, as well as the shrine of San Giuseppe, the local native and protector of the city. There is no better time to visit it than the carnival.
Carnival in Abruzzo, in Marsica is in Ortucchio:
Everyone in the square on Shrove Tuesday! Masks of adults and children are paraded and the float that characterizes the city’s carnival dedicated to parades of “false realities” with great fanfare. It is the parish that made it possible. Its very current meaning. The allegory of the carnival cruise is tied to a precise message: the great circus of today’s life lacks precise managers and roles; we are involved in a great chaos that makes us “clowns”. Look around and you will realize that you have landed in a magical place. Ortucchio is on an estate built on a rocky promontory and designed to live in symbiosis with the waters of the lake: there is only one other castle in Italy with an inner dock, that of Scaligero in Sirmione. And then what about the characteristic caves that surround the city? The most important is that of pigs, where a Neolithic skull was found many years ago. Charming places to enjoy your free time after watching the carnival! Don’t miss a visit to the Piccolomini Castle, completed in 1448 and adjacent to a dry lake: you can reach the highest part of the structure and admire the entire Fucino plain and the natural lake with the adjacent park.