Carnival Vigil (Presentation of the Gabin and Lissiot Masks)

A local tradition in the Vercelli area

The Carnival Vigil in Costanzana is one of the most cherished events in the winter calendar of this small town in the Province of Vercelli, located in the heart of the Piedmont rice plains. It is the evening that officially launches the town's Carnival every year: the moment when the community gathers to present and celebrate its traditional masks and kick off weeks of parades, dances, and bean-stew feasts that enliven the village until the end of winter.

Gabin and Lissiot, the village masks

The absolute stars of the vigil are Gabin and Lissiot, the two historic masks of Costanzana, figures that embody the cheerful, rustic spirit of this land of rice paddies. Their official presentation to the public is the heart of the evening: the pair is welcomed with music and applause, symbolically marking the start of the Costanzana Carnival. The masks then accompany all subsequent events, from parades to the symbolic handing over of the town keys.

A festive evening for everyone

After the presentation of the masks, the vigil continues in a convivial atmosphere with an aperitif-dinner and DJ set, turning the Salone Polivalente on Via Primo Maggio into a meeting point for families, young people, and enthusiasts. It is an opportunity to get together, warm up the winter in the Bassa Vercellese area, and rediscover the value of local traditions that the Famija Custansaneisa works hard to keep alive.

Part of the Vercelli widespread Carnival

Costanzana is part of the grand Carnival of the Waterway Villages, also known as Borghi in Maschera, a widespread carnival that unites dozens of Piedmontese municipalities between Vercelli, Alessandria, and Pavia with a shared calendar of allegorical parades, bean feasts, and popular re-enactments. The Costanzana Vigil is the local piece of this mosaic, the event that places the small village within the larger celebration which, according to the organizers, is among the largest in Italy.