Exhibition of mini carnival carts of the Carnival of Acireale
Palazzo Corvaja, February 10/28 2017
Opening hours
from Monday to Saturday: 9.30am – 1.00pm and 4.00pm – 7.00 pm
Sunday: 10.00am – 1.00pm and 4.00pm – 7.30pm
Free entrance
Carnival of Acireale: One of Sicily’s Most Beautiful
It is considered one of Sicily’s most beautiful carnivals: the Carnival of Acireale, magnificent Baroque city in the Province of Catania.
Acireale’s Carnival boasts an almost-ancient tradition, having begun in the 16th Century – and since, having run every February from then on as a spontaneous party among the people. Peculiar to this fest was the launching of rotten eggs and citrus fruits in streets – at least until an edict finally banned this “game.”
At the start of the 1700s, the Carnival took on more refined tones thanks to a new addition: “abbatazzi” or folk poets that improvised rhymes on the streets of Acireale.
In the 19th Century, the “cassariata” then came on the scene, the parade of distinguished, horse-led carriages from which nobles launched sprays of candy and confetti at spectators.
Yet it was only in the 1930s that papier-mache masks entered into the picture, along with floats led by steers and accompanied by various characters and satirical groups in constant movement.
Making the Carnival of Acireale even more spectacular are the parades of ebullient and outrageous floats, a draw for thousands of tourists every February.
So beloved is the Carnival of Acireale that the act is repeated in August: taking advantage of the beautiful summer nights, the City puts on the Parade of the Grotesque Floats.
The merits of visiting Sicily and above all the splendid City of Acireale get bumped up even higher when you consider that not far off exist a range of breathtaking sites to visit. Think Catania, Mt. Etna, and the deep blue sea lying in wait on all sides of this amazing isle.
(Source: italia.it)
