Piemonte Italia

Traditional Carnivals of Piemonte on stage

They are the most profound legacy of peasant and mountain society, rituals often lost with modernisation and then successfully rediscovered and revived. The Traditional Carnivals, full of analogies with similar customs in every part of Europe are numerous in Piemonte. It gets underway on 4 and 5 February with the ancient and propitiatory dance of the Bear in Mompantero (To) while on 10, 11 and 12 it is the turn of the characters of the Lachera in Rocca Grimalda (Al) to stage the begging for alms in the farmsteads and the final parade in the town. Saturday 18 it is the turn of Chianale (Cn) where the ancient tradition of the “loups” (wolves) is revived in the afternoon, from the investiture and procession of the wolves, to the parade through the streets of the town, enlivened by players of Occitan music.
On Sunday 19 are presented the Orso di Piume (Bear of Feathers) in Cortemilia (At) and the Antico Carnevale of the Lajetto (Ancient Carnival), small village of Condove (To): the first, symbol of a return to nature, to the Langa (hilly region) grown wild again, guardian of mysteries, of secrets and at the same time generator of new fertility and vitality; in the second case, a procession of characters that culminates with the ritual chopping off of the head of the rooster (today a puppet) to propitiate the agricultural harvest. In Salbertrand (To) on Tuesday 21 February at 21.00 through the streets of the town: 'l Carnavà du Guèini (carnival) moves from house to house, accompanied by the group of players, and then concluding with the bonfire of the straw scarecrow after the reading of the will. Worthy of mention on Sunday 19 and Tuesday 21 in Bellino, Val Varaita (Cn) is La Beò de Blins (typical alpine carnival), which takes place every three years. The Orso di Segale (Bear of Rye) in Valdieri closes the series on Sunday 26 February, another symbol of the “wild”: the “ours” (bear) covered in coiled rye stalks, is tied down by the tamer and accompanied by a group of “semitun” players, the traditional accordion of Occitan music.

• Dei Selvatici – Traditional Carnivals of Piemonte
• Sampeyre, 2012 – “Baìo” returns
• Historical Carnival of Ivrea 2012