Viareggio Carnival 2019, Behind the Scenes

Carnival Dates 2019 and Website

Parade	Date	Times
The opening ceremony and parade	9 February	16:00
2°  Parade	17 February	15:00
3°  Parade	23 February	17:00
4°  Parade	3 March	15:00
5°  Parade	5 March	16:30

Viareggio Carnival Tickets

The cost of a ticket is 15 Euro reductions for under 14s and groups. If you buy tickets for all the parades there is a deduction. There is a 1 euro fee for online bookings. There is also a reduction for those who book all the parades and there is also an open ticket.

For further information and ticket purchase viareggio.ilcarnevale.com.

Museum Website. Not Always open to check Website.http://viareggio.ilcarnevale.com/en/luoghi/la-cittadella

In recent years the Viareggio Carnival has hit the world's attention. The gargantuan floats with their political satire create a fantastic spectacle on the promenade of this elegant TuscanArt Nouveau seaside resort.

This year  Enzo went to La Cittadella del Carnevale. The museum and workshops which are housed in a rather ugly edifice on the outskirts of the town. I find it remarkable that these huge models are constructed out of paper-mache over wooden frames. The moving parts are driven by mechanisms more akin to Leonardo Da Vinci than modern technology. These massive constructions then balance on tractors. It is the very simplicity of traditional methods used that make the floats so striking. 

A day at the parades or a peep behind the scenes is a perfect family day out and as a bonus, you get to see the sea, for me always a delight.