{:en}The association Vecchia Loano, the Cultural Forum of Borghetto Santo Spirito and the Pro Loco of Toirano (chaired by Roberto Punzoni) are the three founding entities of the “Ligurian Historical and Folkloristic Characters Committee” whose primary purpose is to bring together under one “brand” all the Ligurian masks and to coordinate the work of the associations in the area active in organizing and promoting the carnivals of our region.
The committee is chaired by Elena Gandolfo, vice president of the Borghetto Cultural Forum as well as a member of the National Council of the Italian Masks Coordination; the vice president is Agostino Delfino, president of Vecchia Loano, whose headquarters will also host the activities of the new consortium.
“The committee,‘ Elena Gandolfo explains, ’was created as a reference at the regional level, but it will work hand in hand with the Coordinamento Maschere Italiane. It is a fundamental tool to be able to better organize the activities of the various associations located in Liguria and the masks related to them. That of carnivals is a rapidly developing world, which is taking on a gradually increasing cultural depth. And masks no longer represent only ”characters' but are carriers of content related to local stories, traditions and customs.".
“The committee,” adds Agostino Delfino, "will look into the historical and cultural aspects of the existing masks and will also carry out an activity to recover those that have been forgotten and yet deserve to be brought back to light and included in the list of traditional Ligurian masks. This is a work of historical and anthropological research in its own right and as such must be carried out following very precise canons. As president of Vecchia Loano, then, I am particularly happy and proud to be able to host the Committee in our premises. This will give even greater luster to CarnevaLöa.".
Loano Mayor Luigi Pignocca and Tourism and Culture Councillor Remo Zaccaria add, “Thanks to the work of Vecchia Loano, over the years CarnevaLöa has been recognized as ‘the largest carnival in Liguria’ for the number of floats and has obtained recognition from the ministry as a ‘historic carnival’ for the important role in promoting tourism in the area that it has played for the past 100 years. For the past few years, our carnival has counted among its symbols a mask from the Italian commedia dell'arte, Capitan Fracassa: 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, they make up a carnival trio now known throughout Italy. Not forgetting, of course, Princess Doria.‘.
In Borghetto the “souls” of the carnival are Princess Perseghina, U Cianta Coi and U Cillu, while in Toirano the symbol is U Trumbette.
“The participation of Vecchia Loano in the founding of the ‘Ligurian Historical and Folkloric Personalities Committee’ is another fonamental piece in this very important work of recovering and promoting the history, traditions and folklore of our territory. To the new group our best wishes for good work,” Pignocca and Zaccaria concluded.{:}
