By the twelfth century, the Carnival of Nice was already famous, and it remains a great popular fete to this day. Winter residents of the Rivera and tourists eagerly flock to Nice to take part in it. It has retained its mythic resonance, yet it evolved according to the circumstances of history. The Carnival incarnates both melting pot of the Nicean cultural identity - by the richness of its popular imagery - and a place of meeting with other fetes and cultures. Every year, it creates a fresh opportunity for the Niceans to relive a colorful and animated period of their history. The Carnival space becomes the heart of a city that vibrates ardently.
To find the origin of this festival, one has to search very far into the past. The name 'carnival' is attributed to a pagan festival, long before the coming of Christianity to Europe. Since the Middle Ages, the Carnival has taken place either during the "fat" days (Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, in particular) that precede Ash Wednesday or during the period between Christmas and Lent. Actually, carne levare, levamen - take off the flesh - is one of the most frequently used expressions about the Carnival. It refers to the period when people "remove the flesh" - people consume "fat" food one last time before entering Lent, the forty-day period during which, among other conditions of purification, some Christians consume meals without meat in preparation of Easter. Carrus navalis - naval float - is another expression used by those who link Carnival with those small-wheeled boats on which Dionysus used to enter the Greek islands.
The grotesque mask - the disguise mask, vested with both sacred and magical meaning - is an essential attribute of the Nicean Carnival. Its use can be found within the main Mediterranean civilizations - Egypt, Palestine, Greece, and Rome. Numerous grotesque-mask representations appear on Greek vases and mural frescoes. Roman saturnalias and lupercalias, held in December and February, were occasions of licentious behavior from the participants. Costumes were used to reverse roles: Men frequently dressed up as women, and slaves dressed as masters.
The Carnival has divergent expressions in the various cities and countries that hold this annual fete. Those held in Belgium and Brazil are directed toward an allegorical expression, careful of aesthetics. The Rio Carnival is one of the most beautiful in the world, due to the aesthetic spectacle of 50,000 people singing, dancing the samba, and parading dressed in sumptuous costumes. Trinidad's Carnival has few floats, and their models stand entirely still. The Nice Carnival is of an entirely different conception, with the participation of the grosses tetes (big heads), the originality of the floats, and giant human robots. The Nicean Carnival has occasionally been criticized severely for its grotesque characters. One wonders whether the critics have actually witnessed the spectacle, a show that makes us return to our childhood.
History of Carnival in Nice
In 1294, Charles II of Naples (Count of Province and Anjou) came "to spend holidays of carnival in the enjoyable city of Nice." After the annexation of Nice by Savoy in 1388, the tradition was carried on by the Dukes of Savoy. The fete then preceded the period of Lent, with a large number of celebrations: dances, masquerades, balls, bonfires, street stands.
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