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The most enjoyable festival of the year is coming up: February is the month of Carnival and Tuscany burns up with 'Carnival fever'. Towns, cities and hidden hamlets are decorating the streets and residents are putting on masks and costumes as part of the festive cheer.
Carnival festivities are the best known in Viareggio, where the seaside town lights up for one month a year with parades, parties, floats, masks and costumes. Satirical floats are made of paper mache' and poke fun at politicians and well-known figures in the spotlight. Due to the cold and inclement weather of recent weeks, the Carnival of Viareggio Foundation has announced that a special parade will be held on Sunday, March 4, when the float winners of 2012 will be announced.
In Versilia, Viareggio's carnival fever has also influenced the nearby town of Pietrasanta and the Lucca plains, which now host the Carneval Marlia.
Carnival festivities are the best known in Viareggio, where the seaside town lights up for one month a year with parades, parties, floats, masks and costumes. Satirical floats are made of paper mache' and poke fun at politicians and well-known figures in the spotlight. Due to the cold and inclement weather of recent weeks, the Carnival of Viareggio Foundation has announced that a special parade will be held on Sunday, March 4, when the float winners of 2012 will be announced.
In Versilia, Viareggio's carnival fever has also influenced the nearby town of Pietrasanta and the Lucca plains, which now host the Carneval Marlia.
In Livorno, the festival continues with the Cala de' Medici Carnival Festival in Rosignano and another in San Vincenzo.
Another important carnival festival in Tuscany is the one held in Piombino. The mascot of this event is the "Cicciolo", a large mask made of paper mache that is burned at the end of the event in piazza Bovio, in front of thousands of onlookers.
There are carnival festivals even in the province of Arezzo: don't miss this historic event in Foiano della Chiana, which has been held since the Middle Ages! Here, the King of the Carnival is a figure made of hay and dressed in rags which is then burned in a bonfire call the Rogo Giocondo. The Uffizi Carnival in San Giovanni Valdarno and the historic Mea Carnival in Bibbiena, with its enchanting medieval costumes inspired by the Mea legend is sure to surprise visitors, both old and young.
The month-long carnival festival takes place in every province in Tuscany: look for the best events and carnival folklore in both small hamlets and big cities like Calenzano, Castiglion Fibocchi, and Santa Croce sull'Arno.
The Carnival in Follonica will animate the seaside in the upper Maremma thanks to a huge parade of paper mache' floats. Still in Maremma, visitors can go to Orbetello for the Carnevaletto da Tre Soldi.
Towns in the Mugello are sure to surprise with their carnival parties: don't miss festivities in San Casciano Val di Pesa, which features games, medieval performances and competitions between the contrada! Siena's Piazza del Campo is the venue for the Siena carnival,while others in the province can also be found in Bettolle, Sinalunga and Buonconvento.
Another important carnival festival in Tuscany is the one held in Piombino. The mascot of this event is the "Cicciolo", a large mask made of paper mache that is burned at the end of the event in piazza Bovio, in front of thousands of onlookers.
There are carnival festivals even in the province of Arezzo: don't miss this historic event in Foiano della Chiana, which has been held since the Middle Ages! Here, the King of the Carnival is a figure made of hay and dressed in rags which is then burned in a bonfire call the Rogo Giocondo. The Uffizi Carnival in San Giovanni Valdarno and the historic Mea Carnival in Bibbiena, with its enchanting medieval costumes inspired by the Mea legend is sure to surprise visitors, both old and young.
The month-long carnival festival takes place in every province in Tuscany: look for the best events and carnival folklore in both small hamlets and big cities like Calenzano, Castiglion Fibocchi, and Santa Croce sull'Arno.
The Carnival in Follonica will animate the seaside in the upper Maremma thanks to a huge parade of paper mache' floats. Still in Maremma, visitors can go to Orbetello for the Carnevaletto da Tre Soldi.
Towns in the Mugello are sure to surprise with their carnival parties: don't miss festivities in San Casciano Val di Pesa, which features games, medieval performances and competitions between the contrada! Siena's Piazza del Campo is the venue for the Siena carnival,while others in the province can also be found in Bettolle, Sinalunga and Buonconvento.
