With February, Carnival season 2012 comes alive and Tuscany prepares to celebrate with big masked parades and events dedicated to Carnival.

Have you already prepared your fancy costume and bought some confetti and streamers?

If you answered “Yes”, then you have only to choose the destination to celebrate! Otherwise, do not worry, you still have a few days to find a pretty carnival costume .

In the coming weeks in Tuscany you will find many fun Carnival events, both in small towns and larger cities.

If you are still deciding where to celebrate this Carnival 2012, here are some ideas:

The Carnevale di Viareggio, is without a doubt, one of the most famous masked parades in Italy.

These are the official dates of the parades:
Sunday 5, 12, 19, 26 of February (starting at 3 pm)
Thursday 21st of February (starting at 230 pm)
Saturday 3rd of March (from 7 pm)
Entry tickets: adults €15, free entry for children under 10 years old.

Every year along the seaside avenues of Viareggio, visitors are involved in the big event with music, a beautiful parade and lots of fun.
The protagonists of this Carnival are certainly the allegorical papier-mache floats, mainly inspired to topical and political facts, competing for the final prize decided by the jury.

Here’s a little sample of the Carnival of Viareggio, with a video from a past edition: look at the Carnival video.

In Foiano della Chiana (in the province of Arezzo), the oldest Carnival of Italy takes place every year.

Fancy costumes, music and a whole series of events will involve visitors in a big party on the 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th of February.
Price: regular ticket €8, children under 12 year old have free entry.

The masked parades will start at 3 pm. More details (in Italian only), on the official website.

In the historical center of Arezzo on February 12th, 19th and 21st the “Carnevale Aretino dell’Orciolaia” will take place with float parades and attractions from all around Italy.
More information in Italian are available on the official website of the Arezzo Carnival.

The villages in the Mugello, a beautiful area located on north of Florence, offer many nice events during the Carnival period.
In the center of Borgo San Lorenzo (Piazza Dante) the appointment is on the 5th, 12th, 19th and 21st of February, from the 2:30 pm. Free entry.

Saturday, February 11th will be the turn of the “Carnevalino” around the streets of Vicchio , while on Saturday February 18th, the village of San Piero a Sieve will host the carnival event “San Piero in Maschera” with music and performances from 2 pm onwards.

In Florence you can find some of initiatives related to Carnival on the weekends of the 11th-12th and 18th-19th of February during the Chocolate Fair, organized in Piazza della Repubblica, in the historical city center.

At the moment there are no clear news about the date of the traditional colorful multiethnic Carnival parade usually organized in the Florence city center but we’ll keep you posted on any news.

We wish you an amazing Carnival 2012 in Tuscany!

Photo by brasilnaitalia

Spring will arrive in less than 20 days but we had some really cold days during this week in Tuscany. The weather forecast for the weekend fortunately is pretty good and it seems we’ ll have rising temperatures in all the region.

This weekend precedes March 8, date that this year on which we’ll celebrate both Fat Tuesday (the last day of carnival before Ash Wednesday) and International Women’s Day.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, women have free entrance to all State museums and places of art in Tuscany (this initiative, promoted by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, is valid for all State museums in Italy).

Throughout this weekend, March 5 and 6, celebrations of Carnival will continue which end this year on Tuesday the 8th. You can find a selection of major events dedicated to Carnival in this other post we dedicated to the events of Carnival 2011 in Tuscany.

Here are some additional interesting events planned this weekend in Tuscany:

On Saturday, March 5, the 14th edition of the “Salone del Mobile” opens in Florence. Held in the beautiful Fortezza da Basso this is one of the main fairs on furniture and interior decor in Italy and will be open until Sunday, March 13.

Head to the village of Impruneta near Florence on either Saturday or Sunday to the “Chocolate Feast“, a small but delicious exhibition dedicated to chocolate and confectionery.

Antiques and Collector’s Markets:

In Arezzo this weekend its big Antique Fair takes place. Organized on the first weekend of each month, the market fills the beautiful Piazza Grande and the historical center with stands of antiques and collector’s items.

In Scarperia in the Mugello area, on Sunday the “Collectors in the Piazza” will spread out through the center offering a trading place for antiques and collectibles.

The central Piazza Mino in Fiesole on Sunday will also host its small traditional antique market.

At the Saschall theatre in Florence on March 5 and 6 will host the “Collecting in Florence” exhibition dedicated to collecting and crafts. Admission fee (€ 3).

To all of you have a nice weekend!

Tuscany is preparing to celebrate the Carnival with many amusing events organized in next weeks in the main cities as well in the tiny villages of the region.
From the great and famous Carnival parades in Viareggio to the events in smaller towns, such as the Carnival at Mugello in Dicomano or San Gimignano, there are a lot of funny and colorful appointments for both adults and children.

Viareggio and its famous allegoric floats

Viareggio offers one of the most famous Carnival parade in Italy. Its allegorical floats in paper mache animate every year the seaside avenues of the city, well known as “La Passeggiata”.
On Saturday 19 a cerimony will officially open this Viareggio Carnival 2011. The real parades will take place around 3 pm on Sunday 20 and 27 of February, March 6 (Sunday) and Thursday 8. The final parade on March 13 will start at 5pm. The events required entry tickets.The Viareggio Carnival is really a funny (a bit crowded) event, enjoy a short video of one of its past masked parade.

Carnival in the Mugello Area

During next weekends in the beautiful area of Mugello, not far from Florence, several fun events will animate the characteristic villages of Dicomano, Vicchio (on February 26), Borgo San Lorenzo and San Piero a Sieve (on February 26). In Dicomano and Borgo San Lorenzo the appointment with the colorful masks and floats is on 20 and 27 of February and 6 and 8 of March.

Other events in Tuscany:

Carnival will celebrate in San Mauro a Signa, close to Florence, on 20 and 27 of February and in the historical center of San Casciano Val di Pesa on the February 20. The medieval San Gimignano, with its famous ancient tower-houses, will host a Carnival parade on 20 and 27 of February and on 6 of March.

In Foiano della Chiana (not far from Arezzo) is organized one of the most ancient italian Carnival parade. This year the shows will take place on 20, 27 of February and on 6 and 13 of March. Entrance fee.

Carnival confetti, masks and fancy costumes will fill up the historical center of Castelnuovo Garfagnana on 26,27 of February and 6 of March.

These are only few of all the Carnival events you can join in visiting Tuscany in next weeks, you’ ll certainly find one close to you! It’s time to dress up and have fun: enjoy the Tuscan Carnival!

The weekend is about to start – weather forecasts are for splendid weather with spring-like temperatures – what better news to start off the weekend?

This weekend offers many events both in Florence and Tuscany for all tastes and for all, from food fairs for foodies (that’s a mouthful!) to antiques markets to the feline expo in Pisa to several Carnival “previews”. I’ve organized events by type, let’s get planning where to go!

“Yummy” events:

In Piazza Santa Croce in Florence: starting today February 4 and all next week until February 13, the square will host the Artisan Chocolate Fair where you’ll find master chocolatiers from all corners of Italy.

Head to San Donato in Collina on Sunday February 5th for a delicious sagra, a festival dedicated to rice fritters at the Sagra delle frittelle.

For all art and history lovers enthusiasts:

We highly recommend heading to Scandicci to the beautiful Acciaioli Castle and visiting the exhibit dedicated to the Ghirlandaio workshop, open from Thursday through Sunday from 10.00 – 13.00 / 15.00 – 19.00.

In the Salone dei Duecento in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, tomorrow at 5 p.m. there will be an interesting conference dedicated to Clement VII, the Medici family pope . Entrance is free as long as seats are available.

Antiques markets:

In Scarperia in the Mugello: the “Collezionisti in piazza“, or collectionists in the square is a market for small antiques and collector’s items. Only on Sunday February 6.

Also on Sunday, close to Florence  in Sesto Fiorentino‘s Piazza Vittorio Veneto you’ll find the antiques fair called Fiera Antiquaria.

On Saturday in Arezzo, you’ll find the largest monthly regional antiques market throughout the streets of the entire center.

For animal lovers:

Head to Pisa on either Saturday or Sunday to the Stazione Leopolda to visit the International Feline Expo to be awed by the impressive pedigree and looks of cats from all over Europe.

Especially for children:

With your family in tow head to Vitolini, in the province of Vinci, on Sunday starting at 14.30 to see the parade of floats built by the children themselves (with the help of adults of course) in the early Childrens Carnival.

If you’re in the Chianti area, head to the Archimede’s garden – a museum dedicated to mathematics located on via San Bartolo a Cintoia (close to Florence). On Sunday, the museum organizes a “mathematical Sunday” filled with fun ways of explaining math!

At the Biblioteca delle Oblate in Florence, on Saturday little kids can enjoy the acted reading of “ll sogno di Rossociliegia”, for kids aged 3 to 7 years old. Reservations are obligatory at 055/2616512.

With all of these events and some very nice sunny weather, this weekend promises to be truly splendid!

The Burlamacco - Official Mask of the Carnival of Viareggio

In a few days the famous Carnival of Viareggio 2010 will begin. The carnival in Viareggio is one of the greatest masked parades in Italy. The official calendar for this year’s carnival is: 31st of January, 7th and 14th of February (Sundays), 16th of February (Tuesday) and 21th of February (Sunday). The parade starts at 3.00 p.m. (and at 5.00 p.m. on the 21st of February).
Every Saturday before the carnival in Piazza Mazzini and at the Natural Commercial Center you’ll find entertainers, artists and music for both adults and children.

The Viareggio Carnival is really spectacular both for all ages. One of its unique characteristics are the giant Carnival floats in paper mache, even 20 meters tall, that parade along the seaside avenues of Viareggio, known as La Passeggiata of Corso Mazzini. These giant carts are built over several months, hard work that follows the ancient technique of the construction of sailing ships. Viareggio is known around the world for its workmanship in realizing sailing ships and yachts.The paper mache carts are different every year and take inspiration from various areas of life, from politics to current events and more general events (for example, last year the winning cart was related to the theme of immigration). There are also many figures which remind us of several Italian politicians. Some newspapers reported that this year some masks took inspiration from Micheal Jackson and Barack Obama. Most carnival floats also have singers and performers and music that encourage people in the audience to join in the parade. The allegorical floats are certainly the main attractions. At the end of the celebrations, the carts are voted and awarded prizes.

Every year more than 800.000 visitors attend the Viareggio Carnival and as you can imagine the city becomes quite crowded. During the days of celebration it is hard to move around the city. You can park your car in especially reserved parking areas. We however recommend to take the train. The train station is just 10-15 minutes walking from the seaside avenue and you avoid getting stuck in traffic at the end of the parade. We also have to say that parking isn’t very cheap.

Entrance tickets can be purchased directly at the parade. Tickets costs 15 euro while children younger than 10 years old enter free of charge. A pass card for all 5 parades can be purchased for 25 euro.

Don’t miss out the occasion to be children again: dress up and join in at the Carnival!