From Venice to Sciacca and Acireale, passing through Ivrea, Viareggio and Fano: the oldest and the best known festivals in Italy
In Italy, February is definitely the Carnival's month. Each city is full of masks and confetti, lights and colours that create a unique and festive atmosphere. The origins of Carnival are ancient and date back to the Roman Saturnalia, which were celebrated in honour of the new year, but also to the Lupercalia and the Dionysian celebrations. However, the etymology of the word "carnival" is derived, with high probability, from the Latin “carnem levare”, because originally the expression indicated the banquet that was held just before the last day of the period of abstinence from meat during the Lent.
In fact, in the Roman-Catholic liturgical calendar, the Carnival is placed between the Epiphany (January 6) and the Lent. From a festival characterised by an immoderate enjoyment of food, drink and sensual pleasures, given as a safety valve to the lower classes, over the centuries and in different geographical areas, the Carnival has been enhanced, mainly due to the subversion of social order, with new and different nuances.
In Italy there are carnivals of ancient traditions and well-known at an international level, capable of attracting thousands of visitors every year from all over the world. It is worth doing a little tour of Italian carnivals in February and attend, at least, the most famous ones. Starting from the Veneto region, the Carnival of Venice bosses the show. 
Established by the Venetian oligarchy to offer the public a period of time dedicated to entertainment and festivities, its dominant feature is represented by the masking, created to cancel all forms of personal belonging to social class, gender or religion. Nowadays, the Carnival of Venice is a charming folk festival and a unique event for its history, atmosphere and masks. During the two weeks of the Carnival in the lagoon you can see numerous demonstrations and events of all kinds. Furthermore, as in the past, impressive private parties and masked balls are still held in the great Venetian palaces. In these places, which seem unchanged over time, guests can immerse themselves in the same glory and tradition of the past Carnivals. Among the most fascinating moments of the celebration is the spectacular "Angel's Flight", which is also tied to tradition (the first person who did it was a Turkish acrobat, dating back to the half of the 16th century): an artist, secured to a metal cable, makes his descent on the rope from the bell tower of St. Mark to the Doge's Palace. 
The historical Carnival of Ivrea, a small city in the Piedmont region, in the Province of Turin, is also worth visiting. The Carnival in Ivrea is one of the most ancient (being institutionalised in 1808) and particular festivity in the world, finding its climax in both the spectacular parade and in the fascinating so-called "battle of the oranges". The Carnival of Ivrea re-evokes the civil war between local people and the Emperor's Army, broke out after the murder of the loathed tyrant Ranieri di Biandrate by the hand of the "Mugnaia" (miller's daughter). The rules of the battle are the following: teams of walking "aranceri" (lit., orange handlers), personifying the citizens, defend the squares of the city from the attack of the team of the Army that throws oranges (representing the arrows) from its floats to the "citizens". In the meanwhile, the parade of the Mugnaia moves along downtown streets, distributing sweets and presents to the visitors. Moreover, it is important to notice that in the three days when the traditional parade is held through the streets of the city centre, many floats, folk dancers, musician bands, coming not only from different Italian regions but also from other European countries, take part in the event.
Moving South toward Tuscany, we have the Carnival of Viareggio, which is one of the most important and internationally appreciated events (during the 2011 edition, 325.000 people took part in the parade).
The first masked parade was held in 1873, when wealthy middle-class men gathered along the streets protesting against high taxes. The main features that characterised the event through the ages are undoubtedly the typical floats parading along the promenade in Viareggio. On these floats, huge burlesque papier mâché masks reproducing big names of the political, cultural and show business world are shown triumphantly. Year by year, extraordinary floats with more and more sophisticated movements and spectacular effects, show how the outstanding artistic skills of Italian craftsmen and new technologies are harmonically fused together. During Carnival days, all-night-long parties are held on the streets with the sound of music bands, masquerades and lot of fun.
If you are in the Marche Region you cannot miss Fano during the period of Carnival. In fact, the Carnival of Fano has ancient origins and it shows at least three original elements: the throwing of candies from the floats to the crowd; the characteristic "vulon" mask, parody of the most prominent characters in the city; and the Arabian music, a music band whose instruments consist of tins, coffee pots and jugs.
In the South of Italy, Apulia is certainly the Italian region with the greatest amount of events: from Massafra to Gallipoli, from Dauno to Manfredonia, without forgetting the Terranovese Carnival in Poggio Imperiale. However, special attention must be given to the Carnival of Putignano in Itria Valley, which is the longest Carnival in Italy: it starts on the 26th of December and lasts until Mardi Gras.
In addition to the most common events (magnificent masked parades with their fantastic floats made in papier mâché), the fascinating Propaggini Festival is also celebrated. During this show dozens of dialect poets perform for many hours, one after another, on a stage built in the main square of the city, declaiming satirical poems composed in rhymes.
As regards to the islands, Sicily proudly boasts one of the richest traditions about Carnival. To be quoted: Acireale Carnival, in the Province of Catania, dating back to the sixteenth century, was once celebrated with a citrus fruits battle, while nowadays it is renowned for its allegorical floats (in particular the impressive ones decorated with flowers).
The Carnival of Sciacca is also worth mentioning, whose origins go back to the Roman Empire. Well-known for its beautiful papier mâché artifacts realised by local potter masters, the Carnival is characterised by allegorical floats' parade passing through the old part of the city, while accompanied by masked crews dancing to the rhythm of themed music.
Every year this Carnival ends with the setting of the fire, when the mask of the king of Carnival, Peppe Nappa, and his own float are burnt.
