Spring Festival and Allegorical Plaster Floats of Celebration and Thought

The History of the Festival

The Spring Festival and Floats of Thought was born in 1891 as the Mid-Lent Festival.
The festival included the burning of the Old Woman and a procession of carnival-style floats celebrating nature’s awakening.
When Mid-Lent Festivals were abolished in 1908 by the Clergy, in Casola Valsenio it was transformed into the Spring Festival.
The floats also transformed: from carnival floats to allegorical floats, designed to entertain and educate by representing events and ideas through static sculptural figures on wooden structures, wicker, and plaster, mounted on Romagna agricultural carts.
An original idea that allows everyone to communicate in a simple and effective way, even modern ideas and concepts not accessible to all.

Years pass and the “floats of thought” become increasingly larger, taking on highly impressive forms. Even the decorated oxen give way to tractors.
But even today, as at the beginning of the century, the three floats are built by three competing societies. The same materials are used in their construction, while costumed figures remain motionless in sculptural poses throughout the parade.
Each living tableau is a page of popular literature that appears as a curious discourse addressed to the town square by the float builders, through the physical dimension of allegory.

The Festival Today

On April 25 from morning, spring market, exhibitions, screenings, artinstallations, children’s workshops, and food stands (lunch and dinner).

In the afternoon, the Allegorical Floats begin their DAYTIME PARADE through the town’s streets, celebrating events and figures from history and current affairs, accompanied by the “Relazioni,” pieces of popular literature that emphasize their meaning and make the artistically expressed ideas more powerful. The figures remain motionless in sculptural poses throughout the parade: the human body is molded as if it were plaster, merging with the float itself.
After the parade, debates, meetings, aperitifs, and music until evening!

In the evening, the trial and burning of the “Segavecchia”.

On Friday, May 1 the SPRING NIGHT AND NIGHTTIME PARADE takes place, where the three plaster giants will be displayed under spotlights that will further enhance their architectural forms accompanied by evocative music.

At the end of the parade, the awarding of the winning float with a big party until morning.
The night parade will also feature videos and images from past editions located throughout the historic center and accessible to all for free.

For more information
Pro Loco Casola Valsenio
Tel. +39 0546 73033