{:en}Wonderland of the Mazzocchi and Planes of Rocca Square G.S. Team tied for first and Queen of Borgo di Dentro in third place. These are the floats that made it to the podium of the Palio dei Borghi of the 28th 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.
The Palio dei Borghi, a carnival competition involving floats representing the boroughs of Loano, was held this afternoon on the Loano boardwalk. Competing for victory were Up (Prigliani), Harry Potter (Meceti), Queen (Borgo di dentro), Wonderland (Mazzocchi), and I Planes (Piazza Rocca G.S. Team, which triumphed last year with the Ghost Vessel). Also on parade were the Clock Tower and Palazzo Doria float with Lovran masks (by the Old Loano Association) and Lego School, the Loano Rossello schools“ float dedicated to all children. Also returning this year was the ”Beccian Car,“ the ”rigadera," or watering can-shaped car, i.e., the symbol of Beciancin. The Pompeiana marching band participated.
A jury of experts representing Ligurian carnivals determined the winners. The parade was broadcast live on Facebook (@carnevaloa). Accompanying the masked afternoon were delicious “bugie” prepared in collaboration with the Brotherhood of Whites at the Sea Workers' Cottage.
In addition to the three winners, the jury awarded other special prizes to some other floats: the Meceti's Harry Potter float was given the “Fantasy Award”; the Prigliani's Up float was given the “Cheerfulness Award”; and the Rossello Schools“ Lego School float was given the ”Sympathy Award.".
As usual, Loano was peacefully “invaded” by thousands of people who wanted to closely follow the highly anticipated parade of floats. “Never before has the CarnevaLöa been so well attended as it was this year,‘ explain Loano Mayor Luigi Pignocca and Tourism, Culture and Sports Councillor Remo Zaccaria. Throughout the afternoon our waterfront was colored with a shower of confetti and festive masks, children and adults of all ages who, for a day, became children themselves again. A truly fantastic atmosphere for a record-breaking edition. This is surely the best reward for the hard work done over these long months by the volunteers of Vecchia Loano, whose skill in papier-mâché work and in the construction of the floats is giving rise to a real ’School of Papier-mâché. The splendid floats made again this year are the latest demonstration of their mastery. A big thank you must also be extended to all the associations and volunteers whose work made all this possible. See you next week for the Palio dei Comuni.”.
The carnival festival will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 24, with the Palio dei Comuni, in which the floats of the coastal and inland municipalities that have joined the event will take part: Snow White (Pieve di Teco), Scooby Doo (Borghetto Santo Spirito), Grock the Clown King (Ortovero), Let Us Work, But Not Too Much (Bardino Vecchio, last year's winner with the Viva la Foca float), Ferrari (from Albenga's Drift Kart Track, out of competition) and the winner of the Palio dei Borghi by Loano (out of competition). The parade will kick off at 3 p.m. The Ventimiglia Philharmonic will participate. Delicious “lies” will be served at the Sea Workers' Cottage. Both the Palio dei Borghi and the Palio dei Comuni will be conducted by Stefania Vivioli.
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 few 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.
Loano, along with Parma, Turin, Vercelli, Castelnuovo Don Bosco (Asti), Busca (Cuneo), Verona, Aosta, Acerra (Naples), Catanzaro, Polignano a Mare (Bari), and Sciacca (Agrigento) is a co-founder of the “National Coordination Center of Italian Masks.” The three masks Beciancin, Puè Pepin, Capitan Fracassa and Princess Doria del Castello are included in the “Register of Italian Masks,” in which all the masks of the Italian commedia dell'arte and folkloric characters of the various regional realities are included. 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.
In 2017, 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.
Finally, Vecchia Loano's “School of papier-mâché and carnival art” was officially opened this year. Over the past few weeks, some students from Albenga's “Giordano Bruno” high school have taken part in an internship at the shed where the association's volunteers make the floats. “A few weeks ago,‘ explains Vecchia Loano President Agostino Delfino, ’teachers from the high school visited our shed and were able to see the great skill with which our ”papier-mâché' people make the floats. Enthusiastic, they proposed that we sign an agreement that will allow the children who wish to do so to work with us on the construction of these true works of art."{:}
