History, stories, folklore and material evidence of the most important and ancient traditional Carnivals in Italy.
It is in Alessandria del Carretto, a village of just over three hundred souls on the first spurs of the Calabrian side of the Pollino and in the heart of the largest national park in Italy, that from next spring a new exhibition structure dedicated to one of its main identifying elements will be held , the carnival.
They are called Połëcënellë Bielle, Połëcënellë Brut', Coremme and Ursë, the masks that liven up the Carnival of this tiny community from year to year.
People, initially only men but now no longer, who wear women's clothes for the occasion.
The Alessandrino Museum of Masks, designed to perpetuate this tradition over time, is the result of the will and work of the municipal administration of Alessandria del Carretto and the commitment of the "i Połëcënellë" association.
The declared objective, explain the promoters of the initiative, is to carry out a project aimed at enhancing the territorial and cultural identity of Alessandria del Carretto, which in its ancient Carnival has one of the strongholds of local identity memory and anthropological research, to be enhanced and preserved.
At the same time, in the intent of the animators, first and foremost the mayor Domenico Vuodo and the president of the "i Połëcënellë" Association, Antonio Arvia, there is the desire to give, through the particularity of this festival, unique suggestions for the strengthening of a tourist offer that allows you to discover a place immersed in nature and the magic of time like Alessandria del Carretto.
Inside the Museum, created with the contribution of the Calabria Region, it will be possible to be directly involved in the event that characterizes and exalts the soul of the cultural essence of Alessandria, with an entire room hosting some ancient historical pieces of the Carnival of Alessandria del Carretto, also having the possibility to get to know, in a positive way, masks and costumes from traditional Carnivals throughout Italy.
"We are enthusiastic - says Mayor Vuodo - to announce the creation of this important cultural infrastructure which is about to be born in our municipality for what it represents from an ethnological, cultural, folkloristic and tourist profile, but above all because it concretizes a vision of our city reality which we care a lot about, the valorization of our history and our identity".
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