Envie Carnival

A village carnival in the heart of the Po Valley

The Envie Carnival is the most anticipated winter event in the small town of Envie, in the Province of Cuneo, where the Po Plain meets the foothills of the Cottian Alps at the foot of Monte Bracco. Despite being a village of just under two thousand inhabitants, Envie experiences its carnival with an enthusiasm that involves the entire community: volunteers, families, schools, and the municipal administration work together for months, creating a genuine popular festival made of colors, costumes, and tradition.

The allegorical float and official masks

The heart of the event is the allegorical float, built entirely by hand by a group of volunteers over months of hard work and passion. Revolving around the float are the official masks of the Carnival: the Count and the Countess, accompanied by their pages and ladies-in-waiting, figures who represent the village during parades and official moments. The costumes are sewn by local seamstresses who preserve the artisanal knowledge of the Envie carnival tradition.

The 2026 theme: 'Envie d'le meravie'

For the 2026 edition, the Envie Carnival is inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland', reinterpreted with a Piedmontese title that plays on the assonance with the village's name: 'Envie d'le meravie' (Envie of wonders). The float and choreography bring Lewis Carroll's fairy-tale imagery to the square, amidst fantastic characters and dreamlike atmospheres.

A festival that crosses village borders

The Envie Carnival is not limited to the historic center: the carnival group takes the float and masks to neighboring towns in the lower Po Valley, with guest parades in Rifreddo, Moretta, and Paesana. There is no shortage of moments dedicated to the community, such as visits to elderly care facilities and tours of local schools, making the Envie carnival an intergenerational festival rooted in the territory.

Piedmontese popular tradition

Like many carnivals in small Piedmontese towns, the Envie event is above all a festival of participation, far from the massive scale of historic carnivals but rich in authenticity. It is an opportunity to discover life in a town in the Province of Cuneo, its folklore, and the sense of community that animates the Cuneo valleys.