EyeItalia

2008 Carnival – Carnevale – is here! Time to be merry, have fun and take the whole family to the beach – at least in Viareggio (Tuscany) that’s what people do. Viareggio is a popular beach resort on the Tyrhennian Sea that is also renowned for its yacht builders. It has hosted one of Europe’s biggest Carnival celebrations since 1873, attracting crowds of all ages and all social levels.

While Carnival in Venice is world famous, not many people abroad know of the Viareggio Carnival, which is expected to draw an astonishing 800,000 visitors this year. The 2008 Carnival began on January 20th and will be celebrated Jan. 27th and February 3rd, 5th, and 10th.

Viareggio’s traditional carnival floats – carri – are colorful, wonderfully outrageous and massive in size. The floats are built during the year using papier-mache and measure an impressive 60 feet (20 meters) in height and 45 feet (15 meters) in length, and weigh 30 to 40 tons. A few years ago the city built a modern new home for these huge works of art, a mall-type structure that is located at the Viareggio freeway exit where the public may view them.

This year the theme of the Carnival is “Peace and Solidarity”. The British stage designer Michael Stuart has created a float about climate change. Two of the floats are based on the Italian comic-turned-politico Beppe Grillo: one pictures Re Carnival (the King of Carnival) throwing Berlusconi and Prodi in a garbage dump, and another is presented by the national TV channel RAI Gulp and the radio channel Radio RAI Due.

The floats are only one part of the Viareggio celebration; there are musical bands, costume groups, masquerade visitors, charity projects, village fairs, and boisterous night club and disco events throughout the carnival season.

For marvelous pictures of this event (past and present) and for precise times, ticket prices and other practical information, go to www.viareggio.ilcarnevale.com