The Vlurd

The first relevant historic documentation of the burning of canes dates from 1814, according to an article by Guglielmo Allevi published in the “Ophys” review on 3^rd March 1895. This feast takes place on the Shrove Tuesday evening, when big bundles of canes are set alight at one end and carried through the streets of the city on one or two people’s shoulders until they arrive in the main square where there is an enormous bonfire around which people in costume dance and sing. The extinguishing of fire is a metaphor for the end of carnival and the beginning of Lent. From Piazza XX Settembre, hundreds of  people in costume parade the streets among shouts of joy and unbridled dances led by the Ciorpento Congregation playing and singing Addio Ninetta Addio, established as the traditional carnival hymn. The wonderful show of the high street bursting into flames and clearly recalling the shape of a snake is not to miss.