Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras)

 

On the last day of carnival, Ivrea is naturally flooded with both locals and outsiders. A sea of red bonnets surges through the streets as the procession goes by, followed by a string of floats from outlying towns and villages decorated with various allegorical motifs.

 

 

 

The queen of this parade, of course, is the Mugnaia, whose charms, duly transfigured by her embodiment of the mythical Violetta, are bestowed on one all amid a showering of the crowd with sweets galore and mimosa posies by the thousand.

 

 

 

  

 

Meanwhile, oranges are still flying on the battlefields. Prizes will soon be awarded in the Town Hall and the verdict of the jurors called upon to declare the winners can still be swared.

In the evening, the darkness is soon rent by the tongues of flame that soar up the scarli set alight by the Abbàs in their respective squares. Piazza di Città, however, is once more filled to overflowing as the principal scarlo is lit. The Mugnaia stands erect, sword on high, in her gilded coach, while the General rises on his stirrups, one hand on his cocked hat in salute, until the last spark is extinguished.

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The final act is the burning of the scarlo in the parish of San Grato. The pipers lead the way to the sound of joyful tunes. Then, however, the band falls silent, and a single piper accompanied by a single drummer plays the sad notes of the "Funeral March" as everyone repairs towards Piazza Ottinetti in a gloomy silence rendered more poignant by the trailing swords of the officers of the General's staff.

Soon, however, the sadness vanishes. The pipes and drums strike up for the last time under the arcades of the piazza as people embrace and bid each other farewell with the traditional saying: "arvedse a giòbia a'n bòt" (good-bye till Thursday at one), an au revoir at next year's carnival.