A T T E N T I O N (program change)
CARNIVAL OPENING PARADE HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9 due to the weather alert issued by the Civil Protection
The allegorical floats will parade on Sunday starting at 3:00 PM.
Tomorrow, Saturday 8th, at 3:00 PM, the concert by Cristina D’Avena in Piazza Mazzini is confirmed with free entry.
Due to the weather alert issued by the Civil Protection for hydrogeological risk until midnight on Saturday, the Parade opening the Viareggio Carnival, scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 8th, is POSTPONED TO SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9, starting at 3:00 PM. At the end of the parade, the inaugural fireworks show will take place.
The concert by Cristina D’Avena in Piazza Mazzini tomorrow, Saturday 8th, at 3:00 PM remains confirmed, with free entry. Afterward, the Flag Raising Ceremony will take place, and the Burlamacca will ascend the flagpole to inaugurate the 2025 edition of the Viareggio Carnival.
Tickets purchased for tomorrow’s Parade will also be valid for Sunday’s parade.
THE VIAREGGIO CARNIVAL OF PEACE BEGINS
Tomorrow (Saturday, February 8th), the 29 allegorical works created with mastery by the Carnival artists will be featured.
In anticipation of the Parade, Cristina D’Avena’s concert and the flag-raising ceremony will open the 152nd year of Carnival.
The Viareggio Carnival 2025, dedicated to peace, starts tomorrow, Saturday, February 8th. At 5:00 PM, the three cannon shots will signal the start of the Parade. On the Viali a Mare, 29 papier-mâché creations by the Carnival artists will take center stage: 9 first-category floats, 4 second-category floats, 8 group masks, and 8 individual masks.
CRISTINA D’AVENA IN CONCERT
Piazza Mazzini, 3:00 PM
To inaugurate the Carnival at 3:00 PM, Cristina D’Avena’s concert will take place. On the stage in Piazza Mazzini, accompanied by Gem Boy, the undisputed queen of cartoon theme songs will make the Carnival audience dance and sing along to the songs that have made television history. An hour and a half of show and rhythm. Among the tracks in the lineup is Tutto il Carnevale che c’è, the official song of the Viareggio Carnival 2025, written by Cristina D’Avena with Cristiano Macrì, produced by Fondazione Carnevale, Crioma Music, and Betty Wrong.
OPENING CEREMONY AND FLAG RAISING
Piazza Mazzini, 4:30 PM
The inauguration ritual of the 2025 Carnival starts at 4:30 PM and culminates with the arrival of Burlamacca, the Carnival flag of Viareggio, from the sky. Five parachutists from the National Paratroopers Association will bring it down, together with the peace flag. Once it lands on the beach in Piazza Mazzini, the district masks will carry Burlamacca to the flagpole for the awaited flag-raising ceremony, to the sound of trumpet blasts by Maestro Michele Orselli.
OPENING NIGHT MASKED PARADE AND FIREWORKS SHOW
Viali a Mare, 5:00 PM
The opening Masked Parade starts at 5:00 PM and will continue into the evening with the allegorical works parading under artificial lights. In addition to the competition floats, the parade will feature the m2o radio float, the official radio of the Viareggio Carnival, hosting DJs and animators. At the end of the parade, the inaugural pyromusical show will take place.
But the long opening day of Carnival 2025 starts earlier with many events scheduled.
AVANTI ROSSO EBBRO CARNEVALE DEL MARE – The Exhibition dedicated to Guglielmo Lippi Francesconi
Carnival Museum – 10:30 AM
Tomorrow at 10:30 AM, the Carnival Museum in Cittadella will open the exhibition dedicated to Guglielmo Lippi Francesconi, a doctor, psychiatrist, and artist, who 100 years ago designed the first Carnival poster of Viareggio, now reissued for the 2025 edition. The 1925 poster was selected through a competition held in 1924 by the Municipal Council and was chosen by a commission composed of artist Galileo Chini, architect and engineer Alfredo Belluomini, and painter Giuseppe Viner. Lippi Francesconi’s work was titled Avanti rosso – Ebbro carnevale del mare. The exhibition showcases works dedicated by the artist to Viareggio and its Carnival through materials preserved at the Carnival Museum’s Historical Archive and private collections. The exhibition will remain open until May 11.
GUIDED TOUR OF THE CARNIVAL MUSEUM
Carnival Museum, Cittadella – 10:30 AM
On the occasion of Carnival’s opening, the Museum in Cittadella will be open from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. At 10:30 AM, a guided tour focused on papier-mâché will be available. Reservations are mandatory: 342.9207959 or email: cittadelladelcarnevale@ilcarnevale.com
THE BURLAMACCO FOR CULTURE AWARD TO ANGELO ARGENTO
Viani Hall, Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery – 11:30 AM
At 11:30 AM, the Burlamacco for Culture Award will be presented to Angelo Argento, president of Cultura Italiae, in recognition of his extraordinary commitment and visionary work in promoting and enhancing Italian cultural excellence.
During the ceremony, a delegation from Porto Torres, a city that organizes the summer Carnival in August, will be welcomed. This delegation is composed of the culture councilor Maria Bastiana Cocco and the president of the organizing entity, Anna Maria Zara. A delegation from the Patras Carnival in Greece will also attend the opening parade. Santo Rullo, creator of Crazy for Football and founder of the Italian futsal team for people with mental health issues, will speak about the experience of the team made up of young people in care for mental health services who play football well.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Many media outlets will cover the first parade of the allegorical works. Rai and Mediaset will broadcast live news reports. La7 will cover the first parade in a report for the show L’Aria che tira. Among international media, a new television program will be filmed, featuring Dutch celebrities reminiscing with their high school classmates. In the episode recorded in Viareggio, actress Katja Schuurman will recall her visit to the Viareggio Carnival as a student.
RIONE STORICO
After the Masked Parade, the appointment is at the Rione Storico, which gathers Vecchia Viareggio and Croce Verde, continuing on Sunday, February 9th.
“EXPLORATIONS”
Sunday, February 9th, Principino – 11:30 AM
Women’s rights and achievements are turned into author comics with Alice Milani, Rita Petruccioli, and La Tram. The Viareggio Carnival has always combined tradition with contemporary relevance and social engagement. The ability to address important societal themes through art and satire is what makes it unique. The theme of gender equality inspires the works of the three comic book artists in the Explorations exhibition, curated and coordinated by Cristina Manetti, head of the cabinet for the presidency of the Tuscany Region. The exhibition opening is Sunday, February 9th, at 11:30 AM at Principino.
CARNIVAL 2025 EXHIBITIONS
This weekend, all of the Carnival 2025 exhibitions are open, both tomorrow and Sunday. At the Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery, the Secoli di satira exhibition, curated by Roberta Martinelli and Walter Veltroni, and at Villa Paolina, the Feste & Musica exhibition, are open on Saturday from 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM and Sunday from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM. At Villa Argentina, the Il Carnevale degli animali exhibition, curated by Pietro Riani and Ferdi Montenegro, is open Saturday from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM, and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
UPCOMING MASKED PARADES
The Viareggio Carnival will return to the streets on Sunday, February 16th, Saturday, February 22nd, Fat Thursday, February 27th, Sunday, March 2nd, and Fat Tuesday, March 4th.