Este Carnival

The Este Carnival 2025 had the theme "The Humanist, the Poet, and the Duchess. Bembo and Ferrara 500 Years Later", chosen by the Foundation Palio's historical-artistic commission to commemorate the five hundredth anniversary of the publication of Pietro Bembo's "Prose della volgar lingua".

On Saturday, March 1st at 4:30 PM, the Este parade departed from Piazza Castello towards Piazza del Municipio, while at 4:40 PM the humanist parade moved from Piazza Trento Trieste. In Piazza del Municipio, the Este Carnival Banquet took place, a reconstruction of a sumptuous Renaissance banquet in honor of Duke Alfonso I and Lucrezia Borgia, organized by the Strada dei Vini e dei Sapori together with the Fondazione Palio. Courtiers, ladies, princes, storytellers, and armed men could be encountered in the streets of the historic center, amidst shows and free-entry re-enactments.