Antillo Carnival

A unique mask in Sicily: the Picuraru

The Carnival of Antillo, a small village nestled in the Val d'Agrò in the province of Messina, is one of the most original and identity-rich Carnival celebrations in all of Sicily. At the heart of the festivities are not allegorical floats, but an ancient traditional mask: U Picuraru, the shepherd. It is a living representation of the silvo-pastoral culture that has defined this corner of the Messina hinterland for centuries—a memory that the Antillo community preserves and brings to life every year.

The costume and its symbols

The Picuraru costume blends human and animal elements with great symbolic power. The face is covered by a white cloth mask (u facciali) with only two eye slits; the head is adorned with the traditional a mèusa headgear. The white linen tunic represents the human side, while the dark, hairy goat-skin leggings evoke the beast. On their feet, they wear scarp'i pilu, raw leather shoes with braided laces.

• A reinforced belt from which twelve or more bronze cowbells of various sizes hang, announcing the arrival of the masked figures from afar;
• A decorated staff carved from a wild pear branch;
• An embroidered cloth satchel containing aged cheese and a flint.

Rituals and pranks

The Picurari gather in groups of eight to ten and roam the village streets during Carnival Sunday and Shrove Tuesday. Their most famous ritual is a coded verbal exchange in dialect: they ask passersby for cheese in exchange for sharpening a knife, but they intentionally ruin the blade, only to end the prank by gifting the cheese to the unsuspecting victim. According to tradition, this was a way to exorcise the anxieties and fears of daily life.

The festival in the square

The festivities culminate in the square with contradanza and tarantella dances, accompanied by the sound of bagpipes and cowbells. Female masks also appear in the dance, symbolizing the triumph of Good over Evil and the return to ordinary life. There is no shortage of tastings of typical Antillo products: roasted sausage, baked cuzzola, and warm bread seasoned with local wine, offered along the village streets.

Antillo and the Peloritani Mountains

The municipality of Antillo has a few hundred inhabitants and is immersed in the mountain landscape of the Val d'Agrò, a short distance from the Ionian coast and the Taormina area, in the province of Messina, in north-eastern Sicily. The Picuraru Carnival is the moment when this village tells its story best, attracting visitors and folklore enthusiasts from across the region.