Carnevale di Verona

The Carnevale di Verona's Bacanal del Gnocco (Carnival of the Gnocco) is claimed as the oldest carnival in Europe — a festive tradition documented continuously since 1531 and celebrated with the unique Venerdì Gnocolar (Gnocchi Friday), when the King of the Gnocco (Papa Gnocco) distributes free gnocchi with tomato sauce to thousands of participants in the streets of the San Zeno district. The carnival parade through Verona's centro storico features elaborate floats, masked costumes in the Venetian tradition, and the collective celebration of the city's pre-Lenten festival season. Verona's carnival identity is specifically local and deeply rooted — it survived Venetian, Napoleonic, and Austrian rule unchanged. The Bacanal takes place on the last Friday of carnival (before Ash Wednesday), preceded by a two-week programme of events across the city.