Mariglianella Carnival - Masked Procession

The children's Carnival in Mariglianella

The masked procession in Mariglianella, a town in the Naples metropolitan area of Campania, is a Carnival celebration hosted by the Carlo Carafa Oratory, affiliated with the San Giovanni Evangelista parish. There are no massive floats or grand stages here; the event is born within the parish community and centers on the local children, who parade in costume through the streets alongside their parents, catechists, and youth leaders. It is a village Carnival in the truest sense—homemade and built by the families themselves.

The masked procession

The parade begins and ends at the parish oratory, after looping through the streets of central Mariglianella. The start is marked by the oratory's anthem, "Tutto cambia... insieme a te!" (Everything changes... with you!), sung by everyone before setting off. The procession is a colorful river of costumes: traditional masks, cartoon characters, and improvised, homemade outfits. The 2025 edition saw about three hundred children participate, accompanied by the oratory's youth leaders, overseen by the parish priest, Father Ginetto De Simone.

Celebrations at the oratory

Returning to the oratory is the second half of the day, and for many children, the most anticipated part. Participants are welcomed with snacks prepared by the families, followed by games and entertainment. In 2025, a special surprise came from three local dads—Gianpiero, Flavio, and Roberto—who designed and set up a small circus, transforming themselves into clowns for the final show. This is the most distinctive trait of the event: everything is created by volunteers and parents, without sponsors or professional production companies.

• Meeting point and departure from the parish oratory
• Masked procession through the streets of Mariglianella
• Songs and entertainment along the route
• Snacks prepared by families upon return to the oratory
• Games and entertainment for children

An oratory named after the Venerable Carlo Carafa

The oratory bears the name of Carlo Carafa, a central figure in the town's religious history. Born here in 1561 to Fabrizio Carafa, Count of Ruvo and Duke of Andria, and Caterina di Sangro, he embraced religious life after a youth spent in the military. In 1602, he founded a congregation in Naples, later approved in 1621 as the Pii Operai. He died in Naples on September 8, 1633, and was declared Venerable in 1832. Naming the oratory after him links the youth activities to the ancient history of the Mariglianella community, which honors Saint John the Evangelist as its patron saint on December 27.

A town that has cultivated Carnival for years

The oratory's procession is not the only Carnival experience in Mariglianella. Over the years, the town has experimented with different formats: the "Carnevale Mariglianellese," promoted by the San Giuseppe Cultural Association with the support of the municipal administration, reached its third edition in 2016 with music, singing, and dancing through the streets. More recently, the "Carnevale in Piazza" reached its second edition in 2024. These have been joined by initiatives shared between the Municipality and the Carducci Comprehensive Institute, involving local schools. The oratory has gradually taken on a role of continuity, ensuring a free event for children even when civic celebrations were not repeated.

Mariglianella, a small town on the Vesuvius plain

Mariglianella is located about fifteen kilometers northeast of Naples, on the plain stretching north of Mount Vesuvius. It is one of the smallest and most densely populated municipalities in the metropolitan area: just over three square kilometers with about eight thousand inhabitants, forming a continuous urban area with Marigliano, Brusciano, and Somma Vesuviana. Because of its size, the oratory's Carnival is not a tourist event but a community gathering, showing how traditional Campanian customs survive outside the large-scale float parades, in the simple form of a neighborhood costume march.

When it takes place

The procession is held during the Carnival period, between February and March depending on the liturgical calendar, usually on the Sunday preceding Shrove Tuesday. In 2025, the parade took place on Sunday, March 2. Dates do not follow a fixed calendar published well in advance and are announced by the oratory and parish just a few weeks beforehand, primarily through parish social media channels and local word-of-mouth.