THE CARNIVAL OF VIAREGGIO

In February 7th has started in Viareggio one of the most important Carnivals all over the world. Vireggio, which is the oldest town of the Versilia region, celebrates this great event for a whole month, and fills the city with all kind of entertainment, parades, music, and all the "madness" involved in these celebrations. Viareggio is a beautiful coastal town of Roman origin, which during the Middle Ages was of great importance as a point of landing. In the nineteenth century was known for building the best boats that ply the Tyrrhenian Sea and its shipyards are still very active nowadays.

The origin of Carnival dates back to 1873, at this time some of the young bourgeois of Viareggio decided to organize a parade of floats to celebrate the Carnival festivities outdoors. At that time the coastal town was in a unique moment of glory as a luxury tourist destination among the high society of late nineteenth century. There were built elegant buildings and liberty style hotels on the seafront, which made of Viareggio a meeting point of the most distinguished tourism of the time. The 1873 was the year that marked the beginning of one of the most spectacular and colorful Carnivals of the world.

A precuaresmal feast with a high component of political satire that is reflected in the increasingly imaginative and fanciful floats that fill the streets of the city with spectacular and incredible moves. In 1925 was introduced the paper mache to build the cars, which enabled the realization of truly spectacular pieces at the same time extremely light allowing them to perform real stunts in the air. Eight years ago, was inaugurated in 2001 in the Citadella of Viareggio Carnival, a beautiful complex that houses modern laboratories for the construction of floats, a school of paper mache, and a large amphitheater. Starting February 7 and up to 28 days of the month, Vireaggio will be celebrating this “not to be missed” appointment, which hosts parades, dancing, entertainment, and parties non-stop. For more information and detailed program of the carnival: http://www.viareggio.ilcarnevale.com/

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