CARNEVALE DI VIAREGGIO - CORSO MASCHERATO NOTTURNO

Viareggio

The glistening sea on one side, the white snow or mountain peak of the Apuan Alps on the other. This is Viareggio, the pearl of Versilia. Born as a gateway to the sea of ​​Lucca, Viareggio owes its name to the via regis, the road that linked it to the capital in the Middle Ages. Its foundation dates back to 1172, when Lucchesi and Genovesi, allied against Pisa, built in that year a famous fortified fortress. The oldest fortification of the city, the Matilde Tower, dates back to the 1500s and was erected by the Lucchesi to defend themselves against pirates. All around lies the original district of the city, grown along the Burlamacca canal, which is still the ideal berth for fishermen and for the many Viareggio who own a small boat. The evolution of Viareggio from a simple port to a city was not easy. Only in 1819 the duchess Maria Luisa di Borbone built the first dock, and only a year later the town was elevated to the rank of city. We had to go to 1822 to see Viareggio become a tourist center, thanks to the holiday stay of Napoleon Bonaparte's sister, Paolina Borghese, Viareggio assumed the connotations of famous seaside resort, so much so that they date 1828 for the first bathing establishment. tourist in Viareggio has however always been married to that for the art that is found in the Civic Museums of Villa Paolina and in the splendid Art-Decò and Liberty vestments that adorn the city, its best examplesThe Promenade is the Viareggio showcase: a big avenue over 3 km along the sea decorated by Art Nouveau architecture, from the Bagno Balena to the Caffè Margherita, where Giacomo Puccini loved to sit. But Viareggio means above all Carnival: four weeks of madness in which tourists from all over Italy come to admire the most famous allegorical papier-mâché floats in the world. A tradition born in 1873 when a group of young bourgeois who frequented the Caffè del Casino launched the idea of a procession of carriages and masks along the avenue to the sea. From then on for 4 Sundays in a row the carts parade on the Promenade: huge caricatures of papier-mâché that ironically make fun of the world of politics or entertainment. An artisan tradition that goes well with satire and that every year deals with the great themes of current affairs, laughing above. After the parade of the carri the fun in Viareggio continues with the districts: parties that take turns in the four districts of the city each week, during which the streets closed to traffic are filled with masks, music and dance.

Florence

A city that has kept its charm and splendor of the past unaltered. This is how Florence is presented, the capital of Tuscany. An enchanting city that never ceases to amaze, with its masterpieces of art, the colored marbles of the churches and the architectures that recall its splendor and the role played in the development of Renaissance culture and art. Piazza del Duomo, with the monumental complex of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore - surmounted by the majestic dome of Brunelleschi -, the Baptistery of San Giovanni - magnificent example of Florentine Romanesque -, Giotto's Bell Tower - a masterpiece of Florentine Gothic architecture. shoulders of the Duomo stands the Museum of the Opera of Santa Maria del Fiore, where you can admire a valuable collection of works from the Cathedral, the Baptistery and the Campanile.Piazza della Signoria is the historic center of civil life and houses the fourteenth century Loggia dei Lanzi, the Fountain of Neptune and the Palazzo della Signoria or Palazzo Vecchio, one of the symbolic monuments of the city, in front of which some famous statues including a copy of Michelangelo's famous David. Next to the square is the majestic Uffizi Gallery, home to one of the most important museums in the world, including works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and many other great artists. Architectural element of particular importance of the Gallery is the Vasari Corridor designed by Vasari in the mid-sixteenth century that connects the structure with Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti.Tra Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Signoria are architectural treasures such as the Church of Orsanmichele and the thirteenth-century Palazzo del Bargello, now National Museum, one of the most important in the world for sculpture of the XV-XVI century. Do not miss the sixteenth-century Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, also called Loggia del Porcellino for the characteristic bronze statue, actually depicting a wild boar, considered a lucky charm, and the magnificent Palazzo Strozzi, from the late fifteenth-early sixteenth century, with a magnificent inner courtyard. Particularly suggestive is the medieval district of Santa Croce, dominated by the homonymous Basilica, famous for Giotto's frescoes and for the tombs of many illustrious Italians, including Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli. Also worthy of a visit are the extraordinary monumental complex of San Lorenzo and the convent of Santa Maria Novella, with the church that preserves famous frescoes and precious works of art and the Museum, including the famous Green Cloister and the Cappellone degli Spagnoli.Through the ancient and evocative Ponte Vecchio, dotted with historic goldsmith shops, you reach the district of Oltrarno, where you meet the scenic square dominated by Palazzo Pitti, the imposing and magnificent palace that was the residence of the Medici and Lorena, with the wonderful park, the Boboli Gardens, a splendid example of an Italian garden. Still in the Oltrarno, not to be missed the panoramic Piazzale Michelangelo, a favorite destination for tourists for the wonderful view of Florence and the surrounding hills, and the Church of San Miniato al Monte, one of the best examples of Florentine Romanesque.