PRESENTATION

The Putignano Carnival, with its famous parade of papier-mache floats, is both the longest and one of the oldest carnivals in the world.

Some researchers have found records dating the event back to 26 December, 1394. Its fame as the world's longest carnival derives from the fact that like all such events it ends on Shrove Tuesday, but this one starts on the 26 December, with the multi-centennial tradition of the Propaggine.

The Propaggine involves the transfer of St Stefan Protomartyre's Holy Relics from Monopoli to Putignano. To this day the Holy Relics are still preserved in the church of St Maria of the Greca. During the original transfer of the relics, local farmers joined in with dancing, singing and reciting rhymes during the procession, hence the beginning of the carnival!

In the last ten years, thanks to the enormous floats, the original satirical masks and the colourful masked groups, the parade has been the principle attraction of this extraordinary event. What is interesting is that the floats all carry social or political messages and certainly have a 21st-century feel to them; this is not a medieval procession...

The figure that represents the Carnival is the Farinella. Its costume is made of multicoloured patches with bells sewn on the three tips of the hat and other bells on the shoes and collar. The name derives from Farinella, a chickpea and barley flour which is the ancient food of country workers.

Each Thursday during Carnival young actors and actresses take to the streets organising practical jokes and lively sketches. No one or thing is sacred but be warned if you are a priest, widow or widower, single or suspect your beloved is doing the dirty on you 

“The carnival of Putignano has its roots in the far Middle Ages, on the morning of December 26 1394 when St.Stephan’s relics were carried from Monopoli to Putignano, accompanied by a procession where the peasantry sang religious psalms. But then we had the jump from sacred to profane, and the religious psalms turned into songs and rhymes making fun of the authorities.” Antonio says. Six centuries later, the tradition is repeated, starting every 26 December. “It is the longest carnival as it begins on December 26 and ends on mardi gras, this year on 28 February”, Antonio proudly continues, “but is also is the richest in events: besides December celebrations, we have parades almost every Sunday in February, and we even have a summer edition on July 8th”.

Linked traditions in the Mediterranean

The mask symbol of Putignano’s Carnival is a 'diplomat': alias Farinella, similar to a joker. His favourite pastime is to bring peace between cats and dogs. Obviously there is reference to the ancient agricultural culture: “his name comes from a dish eaten by the poor,” Antonio explains, “a type of bread made of chick-peas and barley used instead of bread to clean the plate of left-over sauce.”
Putignano’s Carnival is linked to the traditions of other Mediterranean countries: on 2 February, on the occasion of the religious celebration of Candelmas, the ‘Bear’s day’ is celebrated: a masked craftsman runs through the village with a bear – or rather someone in fancy dress - on leash, and spends the whole day making jokes of all kinds. “It is a sort of meteorological oracle and if on that day the weather is good, the bear can go out seeking for food for its hibernation, as it means that winter will continue for a little longer. Bad weather means that the winter will soon be over,” Antonio tells.

And when the parades are over, in Putignano they give Carnival the 'extreme unction' in a particular way: fake priests dip a small broom in the water of a miniature toilet (the 'priso' in the local dialect) and with this 'holy water' they splash passers-by, announcing that 'Carnival is dead'. Meanwhile, from the near bell tower 365 tolls resonates: they remember to the faithful that the celebrations are over and Lent is approaching. It is now time for meditation and abstinence, recalling the days Jesus spent in the desert before starting his preaching. Antonio says with a smile on his face, “But until then, we’d better have some more fun!”.