The Oldest Carnival in Italy
- In collaboration with www.paesaggiritrovati.it online newspaper of culture of the territory
It begins with crostini neri di milza and fettunta (grilled bread topped with new olive oil); followed by homemade pasta, such as pici pasta with nana (duck) and ribollita; then stewed rabbit and Chianina beef steak served with pulezze (turnip greens), fagioli all’uccelletto (white beans in a tomato and sage sauce) and stewed black cabbage; and ends with trecce, a typical sweet carnival tradition from the Chiana Valley region, washed down with a good Chianti Colli Arezzo. This is the Carnival menu that colors, along with the parade of floats, known as crazy floats since 1600, the small Tuscan village of Foiano della Chiana, until mid-March. This is where, in fact, one of the oldest Carnival celebration in Italy is held, now in its 472nd year.
There is more than one place in Italy that is competing for the title of the oldest Carnival celebration. Besides Venice, famous worldwide for its highly theatrical carnival and its antique masks, other small towns in Italy are also known for this event: Ivrea in Piedmont, for the launching of oranges, Acireale in Sicily, for its floats adorned with flowers, and then there’s Fano in Marche, known for the tossing of hundreds of pounds of sweets from its of allegorical floats to the crowds watching the parades. The celebration of this Marche town, located on the shore of the Adriatic Sea, dates back even before the first Foiano celebration, to 1347.
In fact, although the Foiano della Chiana Carnival is relatively recent, dating back to the early 1930s, it’s celebrated as if it was much older, and is now confirmed by a provision of the 1539 Statute of the Community. Documents from 1809 reveal that even during this time the Foiano Carnival was not celebrated with special events, but instead was said to be like a festival given that it sometimes allowed the use of masks. The celebrations in the region, in fact, took place mostly indoors, in the form of vigils held in the large kitchen farmhouses, accompanied by cenci pastries (a typical sweet still present in the culinary traditions of this celebratory period) together with Vin Santo (dessert wine). In the medieval center, these celebrations gave way to balls held in the local theater, which, since 1826, was reserved for large events with music and dancing for the young and old.
Today, the Foiano della Chiana Carnival is considered among the most important events of its kind in Italy, both for the spectacular choreography and for its historical tradition. Four large allegorical floats compete, belonging to four groups, Azzurri, Bombolo, Nottambuli and Rustici, parading in front of a jury of national art experts. Mammoth floats, capable of reaching around 55 feet long, 32 feet wide and 42 feet heigh, made by papier mâché masters and mechanical engineers, put on a show among the tight streets surrounded by ancient walls and houses built in typical Tuscan terracotta.
The village is transformed into an unreal world, where anything goes and where the mask becomes a symbol of desecration and transgression. The figure of Re Giocondo (King Jolly) dominates the carnival, an absolute monarch of a kingdom which, though lasting only a few days, offers its "subjects," the citizens, moments of escape and hope. Re Giocondo opens the parades every Sunday followed by more floats, masks and bands. The last day of the celebration, after the public will has been made, that is, after reading, in rhyme, the events, more or less positive, of the last year, making known in the public square the misdeeds and misadventures of the regions’ people, making sure to give goliardic advice, which is then burned in a spectacular ceremony called "rificolona.”
There is more than one place in Italy that is competing for the title of the oldest Carnival celebration. Besides Venice, famous worldwide for its highly theatrical carnival and its antique masks, other small towns in Italy are also known for this event: Ivrea in Piedmont, for the launching of oranges, Acireale in Sicily, for its floats adorned with flowers, and then there’s Fano in Marche, known for the tossing of hundreds of pounds of sweets from its of allegorical floats to the crowds watching the parades. The celebration of this Marche town, located on the shore of the Adriatic Sea, dates back even before the first Foiano celebration, to 1347.
In fact, although the Foiano della Chiana Carnival is relatively recent, dating back to the early 1930s, it’s celebrated as if it was much older, and is now confirmed by a provision of the 1539 Statute of the Community. Documents from 1809 reveal that even during this time the Foiano Carnival was not celebrated with special events, but instead was said to be like a festival given that it sometimes allowed the use of masks. The celebrations in the region, in fact, took place mostly indoors, in the form of vigils held in the large kitchen farmhouses, accompanied by cenci pastries (a typical sweet still present in the culinary traditions of this celebratory period) together with Vin Santo (dessert wine). In the medieval center, these celebrations gave way to balls held in the local theater, which, since 1826, was reserved for large events with music and dancing for the young and old.
Today, the Foiano della Chiana Carnival is considered among the most important events of its kind in Italy, both for the spectacular choreography and for its historical tradition. Four large allegorical floats compete, belonging to four groups, Azzurri, Bombolo, Nottambuli and Rustici, parading in front of a jury of national art experts. Mammoth floats, capable of reaching around 55 feet long, 32 feet wide and 42 feet heigh, made by papier mâché masters and mechanical engineers, put on a show among the tight streets surrounded by ancient walls and houses built in typical Tuscan terracotta.
The village is transformed into an unreal world, where anything goes and where the mask becomes a symbol of desecration and transgression. The figure of Re Giocondo (King Jolly) dominates the carnival, an absolute monarch of a kingdom which, though lasting only a few days, offers its "subjects," the citizens, moments of escape and hope. Re Giocondo opens the parades every Sunday followed by more floats, masks and bands. The last day of the celebration, after the public will has been made, that is, after reading, in rhyme, the events, more or less positive, of the last year, making known in the public square the misdeeds and misadventures of the regions’ people, making sure to give goliardic advice, which is then burned in a spectacular ceremony called "rificolona.”
