A few weeks ago, we had the awesome opportunity to go to Carnevale in Viareggio. Carnevale here is a big deal, as it gives the Italian culture a chance to unwind, purge their “depravities,” and make fun of those in power before Lent. It was an indescribable experience.
This was my first coast experience, and I cannot begin to describe how excited I was to take my boots off and pop my toes into the water. I would describe that moment very similar to this: when you’re sore after a rough practice and then hop into an ice bath. It was so, so cold and extremely jarring – but also, extremely satisfying. My poor dry skin from this cold Italian weather was burning in the salt water, but I literally just ignored it: I was on the Italian coast! Dry skin and freezing breezes be damned. We spent a good portion of our time at the beach, laying in the sand, listening to the waves, and soaking up the cool sun.
From there, we staked out our spots on the street to watch the parade. I know that I mentioned that one of the biggest differences between Italy the U.S. is proxemics, and I feel like this was an extreme example of that. There were no barriers, no cops, and no one to tell us where we could or couldn’t go. The street performers would pull us into the streets to dance with them, and you could follow along with the parade by foot if you wanted to – you could be in the parade if you wanted to. Everyone would clear the streets whenever a float passed, and then immediately filter back into the street with the dancers and acrobats to sing and dance and throw confetti. It was so incredible. I felt immersed in the parade and I felt like a part of the celebrations, even though I was just visiting. I danced with a clown, threw confetti, and sang like a crazy person, and it made me wish that our celebrations back home were this inclusive and affectionate and warm and fun.
And don’t even get me started on the floats. You think the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade is cool? It is nothing compared to the Viareggio celebration. MTDP is trash compared to these floats! We pride ourselves on our massive balloons and semi-large floats… these floats put our floats to SHAME. I’ll say it again – they were MASSIVE. The biggest one had to be at least 5 stories. And they moved! They were interactive, they sang, they danced. What’s cooler is that they weren’t just floats to promote pop culture or to be relatable. They all had a meaning. There was a massive whale that was wrapped in nets and was made out of actual litter pulled from the ocean to promote marine life safety awareness. There was a green mother nature surrounded by piles of trash that unfolded to be an evil witch in a gas mask with a poison apple. I also interpreted this as an environmental awareness float, because whenever the evil witch unfolded (the trash that we leave behind), mother nature folded down and “died”. There were too many Trump floats to count, which I did not feel offended by as a U.S. citizen, as Carnevale is quite literally a time to make fun of world leaders and politicians (and Trump is such an easy target).
In addition to all of the grandiose floats, there were also walking floats, as well. There was a walking float made out of flowers and women in cages that promoted domestic violence in Italy and discussed prevention. My favorite walking float had to be the social media Trump – the amount of detail and precision put into that float astounded me. In between the floats and costumes, there were also street performers who followed synchronized dances and did acrobatics and sang. A lot of these performers had their families with them, following the moves… some even had strollers! The performers would reach out to the crowd and try to convince us to dance and sing along and have a good time. It was simultaneously adorable and amusing. I felt like the performers were the ultimate example of the inclusiveness that is Carnevale.
Overall, Carnevale was a blast and 100% something I will be coming back to Italy to experience again. The laid back nature of the parade was something I’ve never experienced.
The festive nature is something I cannot describe in words – everyone there was just there to have a good time.
It didn’t matter how dumb you looked (in fact, the dumber the better) because the camaraderie was the true spirit of the day. The art was incredible and the months of work people put into this day was so apparent. I had such an amazing time with my friends and strangers alike, and I am so grateful I had this opportunity (thanks, Tarvin!)
Ciao for now! :-)
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