A winner is a Dreamer who has never given up. Don Quixote is the protagonist of the float and urges us all not to surrender to difficulties. The windmills in the background represent the Covid19 pandemic – today’s giant. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? After falling, however, we must get up and never let go of our dreams, just like Don Quixote.
"Scholars, doctors and wise men,
Responsible and Conscious,
Each one worried
of the reviled life
are consulting at the bedside
of a seriously ill patient
and joyfully agreeing
started singing about Recovery... "
Quoting Edoardo Bennato’s song, a chorus of good intentions for a country in trouble goes hand in hand with the shower of gold coins at the Field of Miracles. Will things go differently for Italy? There is no trick there is no deception, rest assured, do not worry. The temptation to "get up and run away" certainly contradicts the most virtuous aspirations.
The symbols of Carnival have always been an upside-down world, the upheaval of everyday life and the reversal of roles. In this feast of fools, eclectic innovator and artist Achille Lauro is the symbol of knowing how to transform and deny any identity and of how to renew oneself. He is the new pope, the new king whose lifestyle credo is freedom and diversity.
The float is a modern reinterpretation of Aesop's fable. While the hardworking ant is obsessively busy storing food for the winter, the cicada spends the summer singing and doesn't care about the future. The ant, however, is not only a tireless worker but also carefully and scrupulously uses the chosen tools to ensure safe working conditions and to remove any danger.
After the lockdown, social distancing and being denied hugs, we are finally returning to life. We are no longer invisible and distant ghosts without a future. The will to live guides us towards rebirth as we return enthusiastically to dance, hug and meet in the streets. To quote Dante Alighieri, “E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" (And thence we came forth to rebehold the stars).
Men and women are born with equal rights and gender equality is the theme of this float. Although such an equality is still a mirage in many parts of the world, the outlook is positive. The female stereotype is about to be demolished, also thanks to the commitment of men who recognize women as equal, homogeneous beings.
Man has wasted time and natural resources. He has lost all sense of direction. An iceberg with a polar bear on it, floats adrift. The giant bear holds the reset button between its paws, which should have been pressed by the powerful of the Earth before reaching the point of no return. A young Inuit boy is brave enough to press it. So, let’s reset, let’s start from zero, indeed, from below zero, as the creators envision.
Unbridled consumerism, the powers that be, the arms race, toxic waste, the great social dramas of our modernity. The artist wonders if this is the world we want to hand over to our children. Forestage, a child who is embarking on the journey of life, imagines a flowery and colorful world. This dream, however, is threatened by giant looming dark figures.
If used incorrectly, communication can be a very dangerous tool of manipulation. The artist warns against manipulators who try to influence the masses through television, social networks and new technologies. There is a way out, however. To rediscover one's feelings and to tap into our ability to interpret the world through our own eyes, heart and mind.
