{"id":1132,"date":"2026-10-30T18:47:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T18:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ebas.it\/?page_id=1132"},"modified":"2026-10-30T19:10:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T19:10:36","slug":"carnival-basilicata","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ebas.it\/en\/carnival-basilicata\/","title":{"rendered":"Carnival in Basilicata: the 9 historic masks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Illustrated
Map of Basilicata’s nine historic carnivals (illustration by Ebas).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In Basilicata, Carnival is above all a farming ritual: animal masks, men dressed as trees, cowbells ringing through winter nights, jokes and satire about village life. Nine towns belong to the Network of Historic Carnivals of Basilicata<\/strong>, each with its own symbolic mask. The season starts in mid-January, with the feasts of Saint Anthony the Abbot, and ends on Shrove Tuesday, often with the burning of the Carnival figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aliano: the horned masks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aliano’s masks are among the most spectacular in southern Italy. On their heads they wear a huge headdress of coloured paper strips topped with flowers and sprigs; on their faces, papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9 masks with horns, long noses and devilish or animal features. They wear fringed woollen shawls, leather straps crossed over the chest and loaded with cowbells, and often a coiled rope at the hip. On the last Sunday of Carnival, \u00abla frase\u00bb is performed: rhyming satire about local events and people.<\/p>\n\n\n