Pieve di Cento Carnival

Where: town centre - 40066 Pieve di Cento (BO)

When: February 1,8, 15 - March 1, 2026

A great parade of allegoric floats, bands and flag-waving performers passes through the town centre of Pieve di Cento starting from 2.30pm on the occasion of Carnival. Three Sundays in good company with colored floats created by the local Carnival societies, together with masked groups, music, fun and jokes.

At the core of the the Pieve's carnival there's the enjoyable figure of "Barbaspein", the typical stock character of this Carnival, historical member of the "Sozietè dal Zàss", the organizing association of the earliest Carnivals in the mid 19th century. During the early carnivals, indeed, a beggar was carried on a litter: thus was born Barbaspein, a great eater, drinker and funny companion. This mask of local carnival was reinterpreted by the artist Pirro Cuniberti in the mid-80s.