There are many Carnivals in Italy, and quite a few in Le Marche, but the one of Fano is no doubt the oldest and the sweetest of the whole peninsula. Today, thanks to Wilson Santinelli‘s photos and in collaboration with Comunica, we are diving right into the heart and soul of the Carnevale di Fano to give you a visual insight on the oldest Italian celebration of this kind. The pretty coastal town of Fano (province of Pesaro and Urbino) has in fact celebrated Carnival since the 14th century: this traditional, folkloristic event has for hundreds of years provided lots of fun for the locals and for tens of thousands of visitors that every year flock to Fano every February intending to have the most liberating type of fun with the whole family or with friends.
For three Sundays every February, huge allegoric floats parade down the city centre streets, which for the occasion are closed to traffic. These carri allegorici (floats) are made of papier-mâché and are created by hand by local artisans called carristi: they are a satiric and allegoric vision of Italian society and politics and they often portray caricatures of local and international politicians, famous singers, actors according to a different general theme. At the end of every edition, the best float wins an award and is allowed to return to the following year’s edition, while all the others are dismembered and new ones are made from scratch.
The floats parade three times every Sunday afternoon accompanied by music, dancers and entertainers and it is during the second parade that tons of sweets are showered on the thousands of onlookers: chocolates and sweets of all types are collected by the crowds in the streets in colourful paper cones that, by the end of the afternoon, are full of goodies to be taken back home as trophies. If you think that this is a celebration for children, think again: adults particularly love this “battle for the sweets”, so it is not uncommon to see adults competing with the youngest for the best sweets. You don’t know how many times as a child my tiny hands were crushed by the feet of adults looking to steal chocolate from me! It’s a bit unfair but, as the famous saying states “a Carnevale ogni scherzo vale” (“At Carnival time every trick is allowed!”, meaning that basically anything goes).
During those three weeks all sorts of events and entertainment for all age groups takes place: cookery classes, concerts and DJsets, fancy dress parties, funny races where the participants do not wear much more than pants and many more. When the last day of Carnival arrives (called Fat Tuesday), a large pupo (puppet) is burned in the main square as a catharsis from the vice and indulgence of the preceding three weeks in preparation for Lent and Easter.
Two years into a Pandemic where social distancing and wearing masks have become an everyday custom, remembering crowded celebrations as the Carnival of Fano can indeed taste bittersweet. I must say that while sorting through the many amazing photos Wilson passed me, I felt rather teary remembering the many happy Sundays spent in the old town with friends and children, pushed one against the other, no distancing whatsoever, looking to collect the sweets being thrown from the traditional floats. This year there won’t be a Carnival as we know it as it will be replaced by a much more conservative summer edition, but hopefully from 2023 we can go back to that crowded, loud celebration that we all used to love. We just have to hang in there, and dream about it while looking at these photos, hopefully with our hands full of carnival sweets that for this year we will not mercilessly steal from children during the traditional Battle for the Sweets, but simply and more politically correctly buy in a shop.
For more information check http://www.carnevaledifano.com/
Photos by Wilson Santinelli http://www.wilsonsantinelli.com/it/home/