Castelveterese Carnival - Castelvetere sul Calore (AV)

CARNIVAL

In Castelvetere sul Calore, in the province of Avellino, Carnival is a tradition dating back to 1683, born out of the rivalry between the artisans of the two historical agglomerations of Castello and Pianura, renamed Piazza and Via Roma after the Second World War. In those years, Carnival was characterised by the fierce satire that confronted individual craftsmen, mocking the characters of the opposing faction. Everything was done in secret: no one could know where the floats were built, nor who would be the subject.

Between the 1960s and 1970s, the Castelveterese Carnival reached its peak: in addition to the floats, numerous masked groups were formed, and each performed in their own costumes and dances. The parades of masked groups, folkloric ballets and colourful papier-mâché allegorical floats made the Castelveterese Carnival one of the most artistic and renowned in Irpinia in those years, so much so that someone christened the Irpinian village the ‘Little Viareggio of the South’.

At the end of the 1970s, with the founding of the Pro Loco, the two factions were united, leading to the end of the ‘mockery’ culture and the creation of a Carnival rich in art, dance and tradition. In recent years, the Carnevale Castelveterese has also been part of the great travelling festival of the Carnevale Princess Irpino, which brings together the traditions and festivals of Irpinia, taking them around the entire province during the Carnival period.

The Castelveterese Carnival, characterized by the traditional parade of allegorical floats and the spectacular dance groups, is an expression of the art of iron, wood, clay and papier-mâché workers, who shape and make allegorical floats with great skill, but it is also the art of tailors and make-up artists, who are able to give life to clothes with colourful fabrics and materials. It is a tradition that is renewed every
year, but it is also an opportunity for sharing, food and fun: as early as mid-January, every evening the villagers meet to work together
until late into the night.

The spirit of Carnival has never been hindered by adverse weather conditions: according to a rather well-known anecdote, there is a story of a Carnival when it had snowed heavily and the whole population worked with shovels, making all the snow disappear and then parading as if nothing had happened. Carnival has only stopped in truly exceptional circumstances: the first time the year after 1980, after the earthquake that shook the whole of Irpinia, and then for the Covid 19 pandemic.