The carnival of Viareggio (Italian: carnevale di Viareggio) is a carnival event yearly held in the Tuscanian city of Viareggio, in Italy. It is considered amongst the most renowned carnival celebrations in both Italy and Europe.

Its main characteristic is given by the parade of floats and masks, usually made of paper-pulp, depicting caricatures of popular people, such as politicians, showmen and sportsmen; the parade is held on the Viareggio avenue located alongside the local beach.

The first Viareggio carnival parade was held in 1873, when some wealthy middle-class men decided to organize a parade of floats adorned with flowers; a number of local citizens, as a sign of protest, then decided to put on masks in order to show their refusal of high taxes they were forced to pay. The first float to win the parade, in 1883, was named I Quattro Mori (The Four Moors), an accurately representation of the homonymous Livorno statue. The carnival continued to gain popularity within the years, and in 1949 a football youth tournament, called Torneo di Viareggio, was first organized as a collateral manifestation.

The official mascot of the Viareggio carnival is the burlamacco, first depicted in 1931 by Uberto Bonetti. Since 2001, all the floats are built in an apposite seat, called cittadella del Carnevale (Carnival citadel), located on the northern side of the Viareggio city territory.

History In February of 1873, to the tables of the coffee of the Casino, among the young good of the Viareggio since that time the idea day a parade of carriages budded for celebrating the carnival, to the open one, in plaza, among the people. Fat Tuesday of February 1873, the Carnival of Viareggio is matured as today it is known: spectacular event among the most beautiful and grandiose of the world.

To end of last century, appeared, in the middle of the party of people that was suffered great, the triumphal wagons, real monuments, built in wood, scagliola and juta, modeled by sculptors and envoys together by carpenters and blacksmiths that, in the Dock, on the ports of the shipyards, they knew how to create boats destined to challenge with success the insidious waters and the capricious winds of the oceans; since then the wagons so built of year in year, it have sailed in a sea of amazed people and had a good time.

The first world war seemed to destroy, together with the beautiful époque in Europe, also the Carnival to Viareggio, that instead revived, more splendid and more grandiose, in 1921, when even the disguised wagons unthread around two marvelous avenues, parallel among them and to the beach; the sea avenues, the mythical walk, that in the summer they were the meeting of the national and international worldliness, from that moment they were, with the scenes of the Alps Apuane, the natural and grandiose stage, of incomparable beauty, where they were strutted, every year richer than animation and vivacity, the carnival constructions.

In 1921 the first official song was sung, the "Cup of Champagne", actual hymn of the carnival. Also the masks were animated with music for the first time, because the gang found place to edge of an entitled wagon "Tonin of Burio" that represented the party nuziale in the threshing floor of a farmer's house.

Two years after the " Pierrot ", nostalgic and romantic figure of the carnival, was the first mask to move the head and the eyes. In 1925, for initiative of some builders, the papier-maché was introduced, to realize the wagons, since then has allowed colossal but light constructions, that is mascheroni able to hover in the air challenging the law of the gravitates. With such innovation we can said that the history of the Carnival of Viareggio becomes legend, thanks to the builders that, for their creative abilities, it was denominated, from the national and international press, magicians of the papier-maché.

In the 1930 Uberto Bonetti, the painter that has illustrated the magic of the carnival with official manifestos, Burlamacco it conceived, the famous mask today, that in the 1931 manifesto, on I break down of the docks stretched out on the sea, it appears together with Ondina.

Today Burlamacco finds place anger the Italian masks to Rome I press the museum of the Folklore and the tradition and he is exposed in Paris I press the Musée de The Homme. After the second world war, it revives in 1946 and, since then, King Carnevale has tempered his scepter, passing uninjured - June of 1960 -through a dreadful fire of the hangarses where the wagons were built. Since the beginning (1954) the national Tv before, and the Eurovision (1958) then have consecrated the great demonstration transporting, anywhere, by ether Viareggio and the Carnival.

For a long time, every year, a long team of illustrious guests, of political, of characters of the sport and the show, has come to Viareggio to admire it own effigy in papier-maché, as to every course disguised day every edition of the carnival hundreds of thousands of people have decreed the success of this great demonstration. In 1998 the Carnival of Viareggio has celebrated 125 years of life in the shine of one whole month of diurnal and nighttime parties and now, strong of its continuous successes, it looks by now with all of its strengths at the great editions of the future, that will be spectacular with wagons, you unthread, local parties, party in mask, reviews of every kind and, first among these, the world tournament of kick " Cup " " Carnival ".

In 2001 him it is inaugurated the new City of the carnival, a complex destined to become a great attraction, characterized from new hangars, from an arena for the shows, from the multi-media museum , from the school of the papier-maché and from other cultural initiatives and of diversion. Carnival, party of the peace, of the love, of the solidarity. Every year, they come to Viareggio thousand of people.

Viareggio Carnival 2008 - Program

Viareggio celebrates 135 years of Carnival parades, culture and tourism: 20 January: Primo Corso 27 January: Secondo Corso 3 February: Terzo Corso 5 February: Quarto Corso (Martedì Grasso) 10 February: Ultimo Corso con spettacolo pirotecnico

The 2008 Viareggio Carnival is a celebration in the name of peace, love and solidarity.

The stars of these spectacular shows will once again be the huge paper maché floats and puppets, which will parade along the famous "viali a mare", down the sea promenades, offering a wide programme of entertainment and fun for children and adults. At least 800.000 people are awaited in Viareggio!

The huge floats, parading on January 20th, 27th, and February 3th, 5th and19th, will include nine 1st category floats - the biggest ones (20 meters high, 14 meters wide) weighing about 40 tons each - two smaller 2nd category floats and two masquerades, plus an experimental float, as well as smaller floats from the town district festivals. The parade will also include folkloristic bands and performers from all over the world, besides the final massive fireworks display.

The biggest floats will carry about 200 people in costume, who will dance and throw confetti and candies. Other people will be inside the floats to manoeuvre the weights, the counter-weights and levers that will make the puppets move. The paper maché puppets satirise public and political figures, such as the Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and the leader of the opposition coalition, Silvio Berlusconi.

The debates on the difficulties of the new government will be followed by representations of the Italian proud at the FIFA World Cup… In addition, some floats will put on scene more social issues, like transgenic food or the television generation…

Of course the heroes of fairy-tales will not miss the parades and will surely meet children’s expectations. oteworthy is the programme of related events including a large number of shows and cultural events such as fun musical comedies in vernacular, a series of carnival menus available in the restaurants of the area, festivals in the various town neighbourhoods, as well as numerous masked balls held in the most fashionable discotheques and ballrooms. Among the huge programme of sporting events, the most important is the 59th International Junior Soccer Tournament Carnival Cup.

Carnival Foundation has also established a collaboration with Telethon, aiming at collecting funds for research on genetic diseases. There will be discounts on the admission fee for those who will reach Viareggio by train

More useful information: FONDAZIONE CARNEVALE DI VIAREGGIO fondazione@ilcarnevale.com info@ilcarnevale.com Piazza Mazzini, 22 c/o Palazzo delle Muse 55049 Viareggio Phone 0584 962568 - Fax 0584 47077

TICKETS Adults €.13,00 Groups (min. 25 persons) €. 12,00 Reduced-rate ticket (11-12 years) €. 9,00 Gallery (extra entrance ticket) €. 13,00 Railway reduction €. 11,00

Fondazione Carnevale Viareggio Piazza Mazzini, 22  VIAREGGIO Tel. 0584.962568 Fax 0584.47077 email: info@ilcarnevale.com