Robert HardingIt’s carnival season and one of the most spectacular and celebrated parades in Europe, the carnival of Viareggio in Tuscany, is in full swing (running from 16th February to 9th March). Carnivals are often associated with the mocking of the powerful, and this one’s no exception. Said to have begun in 1873 when wealthy locals held a flower parade, the event was taken over by people wearing masks to protest the area’s high taxes. Now it is dominated by giant parodical effegies of famous figures, Italian politicians and world leaders.
A float representing the Italian businessman and politician Silvio Berlusconi (Aurora Photos/Robert Harding)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel as a religious figure (Aurora Photos/Robert Harding)
Costumed people singing and dancing in the streets (Aurora Photos/Robert Harding)
Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho (Aurora Photos/Robert Harding)
A figurine makes its way through the crowds (Cubo Images/Robert Harding)
Onlookers watch giant monsters go by from a balcony (Cubo Images/Robert Harding)
Caricatures of politicians singing and dancing in the streets (Aurora Photos/Robert Harding)
A float representing the European financial crisis as the Titanic, featuring Mario Draghi, an Italian banker and economist (Aurora Photos/Robert Harding)
Giant goblin in ceremonial costume (Cubo Images/Robert Harding)
Ducks parading down the street dwarf onlookers (Cubo Images/Robert Harding)
A clown/king figure on float (age fotostock/Robert Harding)
See more photos of Viareggio carnival here