Bagolino Carnival

A Carnival Dating Back to the 16th Century

The Bagolino Carnival is one of the oldest and best-preserved carnival events in Italy: the first documents attesting to its existence date back to 1518. It takes place in Bagolino, a village in Valle Sabbia in the province of Brescia, and is rooted in a popular tradition passed down from generation to generation by the village families.

Balarì, Maschèr, and Sonadùr

The Bagosso carnival revolves around three unmistakable figures. The Balarì are the dancers: over a hundred, divided into companies, they parade in pairs with elegant costumes and the famous red hats decorated with family jewels, in a solemn and orderly dance. The Sonadùr, the violin players, accompany the Balarì with ancient melodies of partly still mysterious origin. The Maschèr, finally, are the grotesque masks that irreverently liven up the village streets with pranks and improvisations aimed at passers-by.

Between Faith and Community Celebration

The event combines the religious dimension with the popular one: the rite traditionally opens with the first Mass in the parish church of San Giorgio and closes on Tuesday evening with the Ariòsa dance in Piazza Marconi. For two days, the districts, courtyards, and streets of the historic center of Bagolino become the stage for a celebration that is above all an act of collective identity, recognized among the historical carnivals of greatest anthropological value in the Lombard Alpine region.