Evviva Carnevale (Marino Carnival)

A local Carnival in the heart of the Castelli Romani

Evviva Carnevale is the carnival celebration of the Municipality of Marino, a town in the province of Rome overlooking Lake Albano, best known throughout the Lazio region for its Grape Festival. While Marino celebrates wine in the autumn, February sees the same urban backdrop—the main street, the squares, the baroque fountains—transformed for a completely different occasion: days filled with parades, music, confetti, and games designed primarily for families and local schoolchildren.

This is not a spectacle built for mass tourism, but a deeply communal celebration: the floats and costumes are the result of the hard work of local schools, associations, parishes, and senior centers. This is what makes the event so interesting for visitors: you are witnessing a living popular tradition, not a staged reconstruction.

The theme, the floats, and the masked parade

Each edition revolves around a narrative theme that inspires the floats, choreography, and costumes. In 2026, the central theme was Sandokan, the hero from Emilio Salgari's novels, while the previous year, the streets of Marino hosted Around the World in 80 Days, complete with a spectacular flight of Phileas Fogg from the bell tower of the Santa Maria delle Mole parish church.

The most anticipated moment is the masked parade, which traditionally starts at Villa Desideri and winds through Corso Vittoria Colonna, Piazza Matteotti, and Corso Trieste, arriving at Piazza San Barnaba in front of the collegiate basilica. Along the route, masked groups, marching bands, live entertainment, cotton candy, and games for children take center stage. Every year, hundreds of children in costume take part in the festivities.

The burning of the Strega Carnevalina

The event concludes with a ritual that is non-negotiable in Marino: the burning of the Strega Carnevalina. The effigy, which embodies winter and the excesses of Carnival, is burned in Piazza San Barnaba as the afternoon fades, surrounded by the gathered crowd. It follows the same logic as carnival bonfires found throughout Italy—burning the old to make room for the new season—but here, the scene unfolds within a compact historic center, with an intensity rarely found in larger events.

A festival spread across the entire municipal territory

A hallmark of Evviva Carnevale is that it is not confined to the town center: the program is spread over several days and locations within the Municipality, ensuring every neighborhood has its moment. Recurring stops include:

• Marino center — main parade, Carnival Show, and final bonfire in Piazza San Barnaba
• Santa Maria delle Mole — parade of floats accompanied by a brass band concert
• Cava dei Selci — float parade and entertainment with local schools
• Castelluccia — "Maschere in festa" (Masks in celebration) in Piazza Chinea, in collaboration with local associations

Alongside the parades, there are circus performances, workshops, communal snacks, and civic initiatives: in 2026, for example, a "Safe Carnival" meeting was held with the Carabinieri at senior centers, dedicated to fraud prevention.

Why visit

Marino is about thirty kilometers from Rome and is easily accessible by train: a Lazio Carnival perfect for a day trip, with the option to combine the visit with the historic center, the Basilica of San Barnaba, the Fountain of the Four Moors, and the wineries of the Castelli Romani. The atmosphere is that of a well-organized, free, family-friendly village festival in one of the most gastronomically interesting areas of the Lazio region.