Carpignano Historical Carnival

A village carnival with deep roots

The Carpignano Historical Carnival is the most anticipated winter event in Carpignano Sesia, a town in the Province of Novara, in the Piedmontese Novara region. More than just a simple masquerade, it is a shared tradition that mobilizes local associations, groups, and families around its two symbolic masks, Zuclòn and Marièt, the guardians of the local carnival spirit.

The Zuclòn and Marièt masks

Zuclòn and Marièt are the official masks of the Carnival: popular figures who embody the joy and identity of the Carpignano community. Each year, the Confraternity of the Carpignano Historical Carnival, which organizes the event, selects and invests the new performers for the two masks, who are tasked with leading the festivities and presiding over the most solemn moments of the celebration.

The minestrone ritual

The heart of the festival is the famous minestrone: on the main day of the Carnival, preparation begins at dawn in the square, accompanied by the traditional, lighthearted banadiziöñ dal ministröñ (the "blessing of the minestrone" in the local dialect), before it is distributed for free to the entire population. It is a gesture of sharing that brings the whole community together and gives the Carpignano Sesia Carnival a genuine character rooted in the region's rural traditions.

Parades, floats, and masquerade balls

Alongside the minestrone, the program includes a parade of allegorical floats and masks through the village streets, enlivened by the marching band, as well as a children's parade and a masked dance party that kicks off the festivities. The streets of the historic center and the ancient Ricetto of Carpignano Sesia provide the backdrop for a celebration that remains one of the most distinctive carnivals in the Novara area and all of Piedmont.