Pecha Kucha #17 - Carnevale a Schignano

On Thursday April 3rd, Pecha Kucha Night was held again in Pittsburgh, for the 17th time. The hosts were AIA Pittsburgh and AIGA Pittsburgh. The location - very appropriate - was the Melwood Screening Room at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

I was the third to present, and this time (my fourth time!) I spoke about the Carnevale in Schignano. It was a mix of Italian Tradition, Culture, funny stories about a village, and lots of cousins.

Before publishing my slides, I just want to say that what you'll see in the slides is just a 30% of all the things will happen at the Carnevale. Nevertheless, it is a good introduction to a fascinating event, which is gaining more attention at a national level, in Italy.

Here my Pecha Kucha. Enjoy!

1) First the place: Schignano is my grandma’s village in the North of Italy, Lombardia, near Lake Como. I was born in Milan but spent half of each year there. It’s an old place, poor but fascinating. We have wonderful mountains, forests, fields…

 2) …we have George Clooney, weather permitting. Schignano is very close to Laglio, where he has a house, and we are very proud of him. We would put him out on a balcony, with the flowers, to attract tourists. But now the Carnevale. Our is not very famous, but old. It was founded in the 14th century!

3) It happens every year around February, before the Catholic Lent. The dates would slightly change every year. In Schignano it is like a parade of traditional characters. The public would watch from the sides of the streets, as the parade moves. It’s like a theater, without a fixed text. We mainly have two categories of characters:

4) il Bello, the goodlooking, represents the rich people of the village. Rich families used to play this role, since the costumes were expensive. They have wonderful masks carved in walnut wood, in a light color. Some masks are 100 years old, but people still carve them nowadays. They are really heavy, but wonderful.

5) the Bello has a colorful hat, with silk laces and ribbons, and full of mock flowers. They have many details sewed to their costumes, like glazed or plastic jewels, little dolls and they carry decorated umbrellas, to show their wealth. That’s what they do.

6) On the other side, the Brutto is the ugly one, representing poor people, and in particular the manual laborers coming home from abroad, during the winter. That was very typical of poor people: leaving the village for almost a year. Poor families played the Brutto. They usually have empty and broken luggage, to represent the fact that they had to leave the village for work. 

7) The Brutto wears shreds and smelly furs of dead animals, and ugly wooden masks. The mask is really scary, and it is sometimes colored with red on the lips. Which is even more scarier. With a nasty smile. This one is my 6 years old cousin, Federico. My family is a family of Brutt!

8) There is only one special character. It’s the ciocia, the poor wife of a rich Bello. It’s always performed by a man. She would shout out loud, in dialect, complaining about her miserable condition, dragged around by her husband  with a rope. Since ever, the best ciocia is this guy, called “the magic”. He is my uncle Domenico. 

9) The Carnevale in Schignano is full of noises: people would shout to encourage the characters. Then there is the music from the band and most important, the bells of the masks. The Bello has the rich “bronze”, out of bronze. These are very expensive, and when Carnevale was over, they were used for the real animals at pasture.

10) On the contrary, the poor Brutto has poor bells, out of iron or aluminum. They have a dumb sound, compared to the crystal clear one of the bronze. Again, the bells would be taken on and off from the animals at pasture. They are wore with thick ropes around the waist. 

11) Carnevale in Schignano is very active. This is another cousin of mine, running after a Bello with a broken chair. This is part of the unwritten ply that happens every year: the tricks of the Brutt to the Belli. People would anyway prefer to be a Brutt, even if they become rich, because it’s funnier to be a Brutt. 

12) Brutt have no respect for anyone. They would stop cars, laying on them, or grab the people and touch them in the face, usually with the smelly skins of the dead animals or getting you dirty with only God knows what, and wine. Your first time at the Carnevale could be really upsetting, if you are not ready. 

13) This is the antique dealer of the village, and he has always the most amazing objects. Poor people would show up with broken old tools, usually working tools like sweeps, rakes, shovel. Here you see the gerla, which is a backpack made of crossed sticks. 

14) The Bello would go around the parade walking slowly, and showing off his costume. They are gently and elegant. My Grandma is one of the official tailors of these costumes. The waistcoat is full of dry leaves, collected new every year. She would fix the costumes, and sew the pants.

15) The fabrics are very colorful, some are very old. After getting dressed, you would add all the details, like the jewelry and the wonderful needlework. Many have very old umbrellas, symbol of wealth, or precious fans.The stick as well is pretty important and equally decorated. It is used to keep the Brutt away.

16) The Brutto would go around in a slovenly way, running like a mad, covered with rags and furs. Running is their main activity, to make the ciocche sound louder. Plus they would jump on you, trying to show off as well their stuff, even if it is poor and disgusting.

17) Since all the running is very tiring, they would suddenly and randomly stop, to rest. Anywhere! On the walls, in the middle of the street… they really look dead, or injured. They are usually just drunk, since people would drink for days, to best perform.

18) But the rest is really the Brutt second activity, apart from fooling around. People who see the Carnevale for the first time would think they fainted, or that they are not feeling well. As they get closer, the Brutto would jump as a cricket, push them, and run away.

19) But the best of the Carnevale in Schignano is that under many mask you see plenty of young kids, boys and girls, and they are the strength of the event. Fathers and Grandfather are very proud. Who is not dressed, knows the mask by heart, and the kids are always safe.

20) But I want to end my presentation with Chiara, half Italy and half Capoverde, who is a friend of mine. She is the best part of the Carnevale in Schignano, showing that the best traditions must renew and include everyone. 

the official website http://carnevaledischignano.it/

(Italian)

All my photos about the Carnevale

Flickr Set

A project that you can help:

An entire book about the Carnevale in Schignano!

(English)