If you fancy spending the days before Lent partying with the townspeople of some of Tuscany's most beautiful towns, then look no further - the best places in the region to enjoy the Bacchanalian carnival festivities are Florence itself and nearby villages, on the 18th of February.

The celebrations are wild and exciting, particularly in Florence where an experimental plan incorporates a truly cosmopolitan celebration that welcomes customs and costumes from around the world.

On this day each community celebrates its own party, and then everyone unites as a whole in a procession that begins at Piazza Ognissanti and arrives at Piazza della Signoria where, on a stage before the Palazzo Vecchio, representatives of the many communities greet their fellow citizens.

Tuscan Carnivals are both Catholic and pagan celebrations since carnival is about the resurgence of spring and Persephone's ascent from the underworld in Classical myth. Roots of Carnival go back a long way. Pre-Lenten celebrations were an important part of Florentine life back in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Canti carnascialeschi (Carnival songs) were performed by masked men and boys and often used to serenade ladies who caught their eye.

These musical endeavors laid the foundation for the creation of the famous Florentine Camerata, a group of amateur Renaissance musicians who met to discuss poetry, music and art. Their finest achievement was to revive the Greek dramatic style and from their work with Greek drama, the stile recitativo was invented. A dramatic fusion between speech and song, this led ultimately to the invention of opera.
 
So come to Carnival, party hard and discover the roots of opera itself!
 
Source: Travel Max official website
 
Suggestion of ARTEH® Hotels in Florence, Italy
 
Hotel Regency