I had always wanted to go to Viareggio, a sleepy seaside town on the west coast of Italy. What better time to go than February, for the annual Carnival parade, a blow-out of extravagant proportions and a perfect antidote to the winter blues.

Carnival is always a final fling just before lent; a gorging on costumes, parades, drinking and revelry. While the precise origins of Carnival are unclear it is generally considered to be a celebration with ancient pagan roots, bacchanalian revelries, where participants wore masks or costumes so they couldn't be identified and held accountable for their bad behavior. It usually entailed an element of mischief or lawlessness, giant street parties where normally respectable citizens could kick up their heels or even run amok with anonymity.

When our trainload of passengers spilled into the streets the party was already in full swing and the streets were rife with monkey-business. As well as the usual carnival fixtures; Ferris wheels, rides, hot-dog stands and vendors selling crazy hats there were people dressed as jesters and harlequins, bands of pirates, entire families of Dalmatians, pregnant nuns holding hands with politicians, the more outrageous the better. But the day is all about the parade.

The town of Viareggio is perfectly suited for a parade. A long stretch of beach-side boulevard provides the consummate venue, easily accommodating crowds of over 200,000 with unlimited views of the floats; massive behemoths of monstrous proportions towering above the crowds like creatures from a horror flick, many faceted with animated extensions and whirligigs, some up to 4 stories high and weighing over 40 tons. I marveled at their complexity and cleverness. The theme of the parade is always political satire and acerbic commentary on world events, at times mocking so subtly as to be obscure, at times brutally scathing and derisive. There is a saying in Viareggio. A Carnevale, ogni scherzo vale - all's fair at Carnival. Nothing is sacred, no-one is spared. The themes of the floats skewer everyone, politicians, clerics and celebrities with equal impunity and many come to Viareggio to proudly admire their effigies.

Gradually the elaborate beasts made their way down the road, blaring music and packed with hundreds of enthusiastic costumed participants, singing and dancing, tossing confetti or blasting the crowd with sprays of silly string - no barriers, no crowd control, nothing to separate spectators from the action. Everyone was part of the parade milling around beneath the towering structures, flowing in and out like waves as the ocean liners pass through.

The floats have come a long way since the parade began in Viareggio in 1873 as a make work program for unemployed craftsmen from a failing shipbuilding industry. In the early 20's they moved to lightweight paper mulch and the floats rapidly grew in size and complexity to become a highly revered art form requiring enormous technical skill and creative imagination. The paper mulch technique is simple, but complicated by sheer size and complexity and requires vast hangers and towers of scaffolding to construct. Sections of each component are first modeled in clay, then coated with plaster which forms a negative mold and then a soggy mess of paper, flour and water glue is applied to the inside of the mold, dried and removed from the mold, then sanded, painted and varnished to spectacular effect.

The floats are now so vast, they are able to tell a story and express complex social and moral themes as well as more subtle concepts such as human frailty, the destiny of mankind and hope for the future. Floats are named. Usurped by the God of Money highlighted the materialism of western culture, Will we get Married? explored the hot topic of homosexual marriage with a double meaning regarding the cozy relationship between certain Italian and Spanish politicians while I Throw Myself Away tackles the issue of suicide.

The 15 floats are interspersed with 12 sets of walking puppets - 9ft giants attached to metal frames to a walker. These too explore themes, the most enchanting, a whimsical narcissistic group of characters lampooning vanity and a bunch of happy fruits representing cheerfulness. If it sounds deep it is, but it's all good fun and presented in such a wacky, wonderful way as to transport the human spirit. The parade is simply a giant work of art.

It is easy to understand why the float makers, the brilliant and imaginative master craftsmen who create the floats are like rock stars in Italy. It is highly competitive with new floats constructed every year, work beginning as soon as the dust has settled on the parade route and conducted in great secrecy. Secrecy and rivalry began the moment the parade became a competition in the early 1900's. Each year hopeful artisans from all over Italy submit proposals but rarely are the floats ever awarded outside Viareggio. Each chosen submission is given a budget of 100,000 Euro to realize their dreams and significant prize money is awarded for the best floats. The great hero of Carnival is undoubtedly Arnaldo Galli, who at the age of 84 has won 19 first prizes and has himself been lampooned in the parade.

Peg Steley
http://tothemax.ca/