Luxury properties in Viareggio, a view over the Carnival
Floats, masks, and music – the most colorful time of the year
Of all the carnivals in Italy, Europe, and the world, Viareggio’s is considered one of the top ones. First celebrated in 1873, it has been managed by Fondazione Carnevale since 1987. Famous for its long parade of the biggest mechanical floats in the world, it is the floats’ themes that make it stand out, such as national and international political satire, social critique, and environmentalism. Broker Immobiliare Exclusive Real Estate lists prestigious villas, apartments, and penthouses in Viareggio, also near the sea, a stone’s throw from the promenade where one of the world’s most important carnivals is held.
Opened on 15 December 2001, the hangar complex La Cittadella del Carnevale is where the magic is created. The floats are built in here, with skin of papier mâché, metal skeletons, and mechanical joints to put them in motion. The traditional float parade dates back to 1873. It is said that young patrons of Caffè del Casinò came up with the idea of a float parade on Fat Tuesday. The event was very successful, and it was decided to have it again the following year. Thus, the Viareggio carnival was started.
Carriages were used for the first parades, which were replaced with wooden floats at the end of the century. Papier mâché floats weren’t used until the 1920s. Another innovation came along in 1953, when bulls were replaced with tractors to pull the float. The first posters with Burlamacco, the event’s mascot, were drawn in 1930.
Mainly renowned for political satire, the floats unsurprisingly had environmental themes during the last few years. Two striking floats were Alta Marea (High Tide) and L’ultima Biancaneve (The Last Snow White) which were paraded one in front of the other in 2019. The Alta Marea float represented a huge blue whale surrounded and covered with trash, which also came out of its mouth – a striking image to draw attention to the problem of plastic and microplastics polluting waters the world over. The Ultima Biancaneve float showed a woman in green, representing the environment, and the iconic witch from Disney’s Snow White, representing pollution. The latter’s clothes were made to look like black trash bags.
Aside from the thousands of colors from the floats, the Carnival is also famous for its typical sweets, first and foremost chiacchiere, with or without honey or chocolate. There are also cenci, which are similar to chiacchiere, fried cackes with Vin Santo, castagnole, and ondine - sweets with cream stuffing. Last but not least, bomboloni, a kind of donut with Chantilly cream stuffing.
There is no stopping the party, which isn’t limited to parades and masks. It goes on into the night with the Rioni del Carnevale, celebrated in Viareggio’s neighborhoods, notably Torre del Lago, Marco Polo, Darsena, and Croce Verde. Fun and Carnival spirit carry on into the night, starting from 7 pm and ending at midnight. You can taste typical Viareggio cuisine at the many food stands, and speaker and bands keep playing Carnival music.
Carnival 2021 was unusually celebrated in the last weeks of September and the first week of October due to the Covid emergency status. Also unusual was having assigned seating only, to avoid large gatherings. For Carnival 2022, the updated dates after the issuing of anti-covid regulations are the following: Sunday 10 Feb, Fat Thursday 24 Feb, Sunday 27 Feb, Fat Tuesday 1 March, Saturday 5 March, and lastly Saturday 12 March.
Purchasing a luxury property in Viareggio with professional assistance from Broker Immobiliare Exclusive Real Estate means having the chance to live not only near the sea, but also near where one of the world’s most important carnivals is celebrated.
