Carnival in Putignano
The Carnival Parade in Putignano is said to be the oldest in Italy, predating even the famous event in Venice. The celebration is marked by fanfare and a cavalcade through the city's streets on several significant days during the carnival period. The period ends with the Funeral of Carnival and the Campana dei Maccheroni or pasta bell which signals the end of Carnival and the beginning of the period of Lent.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The celebration of Carnival in Putignano is said to have begun in 1394 when the Knights of Malta, who were engaged in the area's defense against Saracen attacks, at the time very common to the coastal cities, decided that the Holy Relics of St Stephen the Martyr should be moved for safe keeping from the castle in Monopoli to Putignano. Tradition has it that the local farmers who were working their vines, overwhelmed with joy at the arrival of the holy relics, left the fields and met the cortege with faces dusted white with flour, joking, laughing and singing. Propaggini is still celebrated on the 26th December in Putignano by reciting poems in the local dialect.
This day marks the start of the Carnival season in Putignano.
February 2, the celebration of Candelmas, is known in Putignano as the Festival of the Bear. According to a proverb in the local dialect, on the day of Candelmas the bear is endowed with powers to foresee the weather conditions for the remainder of the winter. The day is marked with theatrical performances representing the bear and its magical powers.
Thursdays are also an important day in the countdown to Shrove Tuesday which marks the end of Carnival. They are a traditional day for dances and parties, each week thrusting a different strata from the social hierarchy into prominence. The first Thursday is dedicated to the Archbishop, followed in order by priests, nuns, widowers, "Pazzi" (anyone still unmarried), married women and finally, married men.
Sundays see the rollout of the carnival parade. Each week, the cavalcade makes its way through the main streets of the town. Colourful and elaborate paper-mâché floats snake through vie and viali with hundreds of participants and observers each year. The floats often make fun of politicians and other public figures and more recently have been used to promote public awareness of important local and global issues.
The final parade is held of the eve of Ash Wednesday, as per the Mardi Gras tradition in Rio and other cities around the world. Christians let their hair down and indulge on 'Fat Tuesday' the final day before the fasting and reflection of Lent begins.
Once the last of the official floats have completed their tour of the city's streets, the final hours of Shrove Tuesday are
ushered out by a funeral procession by masked 'priests' and a paper-mâché pig which is burned in the main piazza. The last minutes of the occasion are sounded out by 365 chimes of a paper-mâché bell. The town and all its visitors gather together for the final celebration, with wine, pasta and dancing, before the austere and sombre period of Lent commences.