{:en}At Loano, everything is now ready for the 27th edition of CarnevaLöa, the great event organized by the Old Loano Association with the contribution of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Municipality of Loano.
For the past several months, Vecchia Loano's new president Agostino Delfino, vice president Sandro Comani and deputy vice president Carmine Attanasio, along with the entire board, have been working on the 2018 edition of CarnevaLoa.
The opening will be held on Sunday, January 28, at 2:30 p.m. in Piazza Italia with the customary “handing over of the keys” ceremony by Loano Mayor Luigi Pignocca to Beciancin (official mask of Carnevaloa) and the other two masks Capitan Fracassa (Ligurian mask of the Commedia dell'Arte) and Pue Pepin (the Carnival King).
The ceremony is attended by many guest masks from Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia in addition to Liguria.
Loano, together with Parma, Turin, Vercelli, Castelnuovo Don Bosco (Asti), Busca (Cuneo), Verona, Aosta, Acerra (Naples), Catanzaro, Polignano a Mare (Bari), and Sciacca (Agrigento) is co-founder of the “National Coordination Center of Italian Masks.” The association Vecchia Loano, in the person of former president Santino Puleo, is the contact person for Liguria Centro. The three masks Beciancin, Pue Pepin, Capitan Fracassa and Princess Doria del Castello are included in the “Register of Italian Masks,” in which all the Italian commedia dell'arte masks and folkloric characters of the various regional realities are registered. The goal of the initiative is to enhance the carnival not only as an occasion for entertainment but also as a historical, traditional, cultural and tourist resource.
Thanks to the collaboration with the Parma Center, for the first time this year several new Ligurian masks will be present at Loano, which will be christened right at the handing over of the keys. Hailing from Albenga will be King Artichoke, Princess Zucchina Trombetta, Baronetto Asparago Violetto, Sir Cuore di Bue; from Arenzano will come Ressagin (a new mask still under construction); from Arnasco there will be U Liviu and Tina; from Cairo Montenotte Nuvarin der Caste’ and la Castellana; from Celle Re Baxeico’ and Princess Trenetta; from Chiavari Rebello and Rebellunna; from Genoa Capitan Spaventa; from Savona Legino there will be U Menegu du Gumbu, Manin da Detta and Bugaxxe di Troggi; from Loano Beciancin, Pue'Pepin, Capitan Fracassa, Princess Doria del Castello; from Noli U Baciccia; from Pieve di Teco Baci’ L’ Inciastru; from Savona Cicciolin and King Chinotto; from Varazze Muminin a Pescea, Meneghin U Treggia,U Scavena; from Ventimiglia Il Corsaro Nero and Segu’ U Pescavu’; from Zuccarello the Princess de Lamballe (from the Court of Queen Antoinette). Along with theirs, 30 other mask delegations from Piedmont and many other regions of Italy.
The handing over of the keys by the mayor will officially kick off the 27th edition of CarnevaLöa. Two glimpses of the celebration will take place on Saturday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 10 with the two “Children's Carnival” events to be held in Rocca Square and Massena Square, respectively. The two fun-filled masquerade afternoons dedicated to the little ones will start at 3 p.m. with games, dancing, entertainment and, in closing, a sweet snack for everyone. And on Saturday, Feb. 10, children will be able to try their hand at the game of piñata. “U Beciancìn,” King of Carnival and the official mask of Carnevalöa, and “U Puè Peppin,” the traditional carnival mask at Loano, will be present at the party.
Sunday, Feb. 4, will see the highly anticipated parade of floats on the waterfront. The floats, made by carnival artisans and inspired by cartoons, current events and satire, will leave at 3 p.m. from Campo Cadorna, travel along Corso Roma and reach Piazzale Mazzini, where they will turn around to return to their starting point. During the parade, the Palio dei Borghi, a carnival competition involving floats representing the boroughs of Loano, and the “Sagra della Frittella” by the Loano Brotherhood of Whites will take place. There will be six floats competing for the Palio dei Borghi this year: Super Mario Bros (made by the Matetti Burdelluzi and winner last year), Wonder Woman (Borgo di dentro), The Ghost Vessel (Piazza Rocca), Ancient Romans (Meceti), Frozen (Maina de Loa), and The Trolls (Prigliani). The Clock Tower float with Lovese masks (by the Old Loano Association) and the Loano Rossello Schools float dedicated to all children will also parade. The parade can be followed live on Facebook (@carnevaloa).
The carnival festival will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 11, with the Palio dei Comuni, in which the floats of the coastal and inland municipalities that have joined the event will take part: Viva la Foca (from Bardino Vecchio), Adriano Celentano (Borghetto Santo Spirito), I Pescatori di Varazze (Varazze), Pacman (Ceriale), Ecomondo (Ortovero) and the winner of the Palio dei Borghi from Loano (out of competition). The parade will kick off at 3 p.m. The same afternoon will also feature the “Festival of the Pancake” by the Loano Brotherhood of Whites.
“As has been the case for many years now, the CarnevaLöa with its traditional parade of floats is one of the most important and eagerly awaited events of the winter season in our city,” explain Mayor Luigi Pignocca and Councillor for Tourism, Culture and Sports Remo Zaccaria. "The CarnevaLöa is one of the great historical carnivals of Liguria and one of the best known and most appreciated events of its kind nationwide, able to attract to Loano so many guests from all over Italy and even abroad. None of this would be possible without the volunteers, groups and associations that for so many months work tirelessly and with infinite passion to build the floats and organize this fantastic event. To them goes the thanks of the entire municipal administration and the entire citizenry.".
The Loano carnival has more than 100 years of history and over time several associations have taken turns carrying on this tradition: the “Loano Sports Union,” the “Red Circle,” the “Fetaia,” the “Edelweiss,” the “Oriental Bluman Carovan” group, the “Puè Pepin” Association , the ’Azienda Autonoma di Turismo e Soggiorno” and since 1992 it has been the turn of the ”Old Loano“ Association with the support of the Tourism, Culture and Sports Department of the City of Loano.
Over the past 25 years, the Loano carnival has come to be recognized by the region as the “largest carnival in Liguria” in terms of number of floats, and for the past few years it has included a mask from the Italian commedia dell'arte, Capitan Fracassa, who together with Puè Pepin, King of the Loano Carnival since 1950 and U Beciancin, a goliardic character from the early 1900s who is the official mask, make up a carnival trio now known throughout Italy.
Last year, CarnevaLöa was awarded “historic carnival” status by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture for the important role it has played in promoting tourism in the area for a hundred years.{:}
