{:en}It will bring with it many fantastic novelties the 29th edition of CarnevaL\u00f6a, the great carnival event organized by the Old Loano Association with the contribution of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the City of Loano.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarnevaL\u00f6a,\u2018 recall Mayor Luigi Pignocca and Councillor for Tourism, Culture and Sports Remo Zaccaria, \u2019is the largest carnival in Liguria and one of the best known and most appreciated events of its kind nationwide. The Loano carnival is rooted in the history and cultural traditions of our community and that has helped make the name of Loano known throughout the region and beyond. The parade of floats attracts many guests to Loano from all parts of Italy and even abroad, and is the perfect showcase to showcase the skill of the \u201dpaper mache masters' who handcraft these authentic works of art each year with great skill and patience.\".<\/p>\n
\u201cIn recent years the work of Vecchia Loano has not only been about organizing an increasingly rich, beautiful and engaging event, but it has been about safeguarding and passing on local carnival traditions to new generations. One example of this is the internships (which began last year) with students from the Albenga art high school, who were invited to closely admire and learn the work of the masters. In short, a 360-degree event somewhere between the past and the future, made possible by the skill and commitment of the volunteers, groups and associations that have been working tirelessly and with infinite passion for months to organize this event. To them goes the thanks of the entire administration and the entire citizenry.\u201d.<\/p>\n
The president of Old Loano, Agostino Delfino, joins the thanks of the city administration: \u201cI want to express my sincerest gratitude to all the masters and volunteers of our association, who since the early days of October have been working to make the splendid floats that symbolize this event and to provide entertainment and fun for our fellow citizens and guests who come specially to Loano in February each year to participate in this splendid event.\u201d.<\/p>\n
The opening of the event will be held on Sunday, January 26, in Piazza Italia with the customary ceremony of the \u201chanding over of the keys\u201d of the city by Loano Mayor Luigi Pignocca to Beciancin (official mask of Carnevaloa) and the other masks Capitan Fracassa (Ligurian mask of the Commedia dell'Arte), Pu\u00e8 Pepin (the Carnival King) and Princess Doria del Castello (whose performer was elected last summer during the Miss Riviera delle Palme contest, also organized by Vecchia Loano). Numerous masks from Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia, in addition to Liguria, are participating in the ceremony.<\/p>\n
This year's \u201chanding over of the keys\u201d is part of \u201cU Carleva da vall\u00e2,\u201d the big comprensorial carnival organized by Vecchia Loano, the Cultural Forum of Borghetto, and the Pro Loco of Toirano under the patronage of the municipalities of Borghetto Santo Spirito, Loano, Toirano and Balestrino. The event will begin Saturday, Jan. 25, in Balestrino: starting at 10 a.m. carnival delegations will gather at the Marchese's Antiche Scuderie; after a greeting from Mayor Gabriella Ismarro, the new local mask, U Cavigiottu, will be presented; this will be followed by a greeting to the masks and delegations present and the lighting of the torch of the comprensorial carnival. At about 12:30 p.m. the masks will move to Toirano: after the greeting by Mayor Giuseppe De Fezza, the new Toirano mask, U Trumbett\u00e8, will be presented and the passing of the torch will take place. After the lunch break there will be a parade of masks and delegations through the historic center.<\/p>\n
\u201cU Carleva da vall\u00e2\u201d will continue on Sunday, Jan. 26: at 10 a.m. masks and delegations will gather in Piazza Enrico Fermi in Borghetto; this will be followed by a parade to Piazza Libert\u00e0, which will host a greeting from Mayor Giancarlo Canepa and the presentation of local masks (U Cillu, Princess Perseghina and Cianta Coi) with the passing of the torch. After lunch the event will move to Loano: at 2:45 p.m. participants will gather in Piazza Italia for a greeting by Mayor Luigi Pignocca, the presentation of local masks (Capitan Fracassa, Pu\u00e8 Pepin and Princess Doria del Castello) and the passing of the torch. At 3:30 p.m. there will then be a parade through the historic center.<\/p>\n
Two glimpses of CarnevaL\u00f6a will be had on Sunday, Feb. 2 and Sunday, Feb. 9 with the two \u201cChildren's Carnival\u201d events to be held in Massena Square and Rocca Square, respectively. The two fun-filled masked afternoons dedicated to the little ones will begin at 3 p.m. with games, dancing, entertainment by the \u201cMatti da Legare\u201d and, in closing, a sweet snack for all. And on Sunday, Feb. 9, children can try their hand at the game of pi\u00f1ata.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Feb. 16, the highly anticipated parade of floats will be held on the waterfront. The floats, made by carnival artisans and inspired by cartoons, current events and satire, will leave at 3 p.m. from Piazza Mazzini, travel along Corso Roma and reach Piazza Cadorna, where they will turn around to return to the starting point. During the parade, the Palio dei Borghi, a carnival competition involving the \u201crepresentative\u201d floats of the Loano boroughs and some guest floats, out of competition, will take place. Also parading will be the Clock Tower and Palazzo Doria float with Loano masks (by the Vecchia Loano association) and the \u201cBeccian Car,\u201d the \u201crigadera\u201d or watering can-shaped car, i.e., the symbol of Beciancin. The Pompeiana marching band will participate. The parade can be followed live on Facebook (@carnevaloa). At the Sea Workers\u201c Cottage, delicious \u201dbugie\" prepared by the Brotherhood of White Hats will be available.<\/p>\n
The carnival festival will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 23, with the Palio dei Comuni, in which the floats of the coastal and inland municipalities that have joined the event and the winner of the Palio dei Borghi of Loano (out of competition) will take part. The parade will kick off at 3 p.m. The Ventimiglia Philharmonic will participate. Delicious \u201clies\u201d will be served at the Sea Workers' Cottage. Both the Palio dei Borghi and the Palio dei Comuni will be conducted by Stefania Vivioli.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cNational Coordination Center of Italian Masks.\u201d The three masks Beciancin, Pu\u00e8 Pepin, Capitan Fracassa and Princess Doria del Castello are included in the \u201cRegister of Italian Masks,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
The Loano carnival has more than 100 years of history, and over time several associations have taken turns carrying on this tradition: the \u201cLoano Sports Union,\u201d the \u201cRed Circle,\u201d the \u201cFetaia,\u201d the \u201cEdelweiss,\u201d the \u201cOriental Bluman Carovan\u201d group, the \u201cPu\u00e8 Pepin\u201d association , the \u201cAzienda Autonoma di Turismo e Soggiorno\u201d and since 1992 it has been the turn of the association \u201cVecchia Loano\u201d with the support of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Municipality of Loano.<\/p>\n
Over the past few years the Loano carnival has come to be recognized by the region as the \u201clargest carnival in Liguria\u201d in terms of the number of floats, and for the past few years has included a mask from the Italian commedia dell'arte, Capitan Fracassa, who together with Pu\u00e8 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.<\/p>\n
In 2017, CarnevaL\u00f6a was awarded \u201chistoric carnival\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Last year saw the official opening of Vecchia Loano's \u201cSchool of paper mache and carnival art.\u201d Some students from Albenga's \u201cGiordano Bruno\u201d high school took part in an internship at the shed where the association's volunteers make the floats. \u201cThe teachers from the high school,\u2018 Delfino explains, \u2019visited our shed and were able to see the great skill with which our \u201dpapier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9' people make the floats. Enthusiastic, they proposed that we sign an agreement that will allow young people who wish to do so to work with us on the construction of these true works of art.\".<\/p>\n
Also in 2019, Vecchia Loano, the Cultural Forum of Borghetto Santo Spirito and the Pro Loco of Toirano founded the \u201cLigurian Historical and Folkloric Characters Committee\u201d whose primary purpose is to bring together under one \u201cbrand\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
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 office also hosts the consortium's activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe committee,\u2018 Elena Gandolfo explains, \u2019was created as a reference at the regional level, but it works 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 \u201dcharacters' but are carriers of content related to local stories, traditions and customs.\".<\/p>\n
\u201cThe committee,\u201d 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 CarnevaL\u00f6a.\"{:}<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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