The Carnival of Acireale, the finest Carnival in Sicily, is one of the most ancient mix of good mood and cheering up. Have you got a bit of glee and aptitude to smiling?. This year, it takes place from February 17 until March 5, 2019. Carnival floats, costumed groups, bands, exhibitions and concerts fully immersed in the splendor of the Sicilian Baroque.

The first official document that attests the presence of the carnival in the city dates back to 1594, but it is believed that the carnival has even older origins. The manifestation would have been born spontaneously among the population, that freed from ties, gave place to festivals in masquerade, on the tradition of the Roman Saturnals, with which the powerful of the time, especially the clergy, were mocked. One of the first masks of Acireale’s carnival was the Abbatazzu (also known as Pueta Minutizzu) which carried around large ironic books on the clerical class of the time, especially on the Abate-Bishop of Catania.

In the seventeenth century, here too, there was the custom of the Battle of oranges and lemons, then banned by the city authorities. Suspended for several years, due to the terrible earthquake of Val di Noto in 1693, the carnival of Acireale came back in vogue at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The first floats date back to 1880. Initially they were the carriages of the noble decorations (the chests or landaus), then the papier-mache floats were made, an art practiced by many local craftsmen. Since 1930 flowered wagons have been introduced, at the beginning they were flowered machines. Thus was born the Carnival Acese as we know it today.

For Carnival schedule of the events and more info Carnival Acireale