Italy’s Carnival of Viareggio goes viral for massive, elaborate parade floats

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The Viareggio Carnival in Italy is becoming a huge hit on social media. Its massive, beautifully decorated floats portray well-known characters and stories, and many of them actually move and come to life!

Every February, the city of Viareggio in Tuscany, Italy, hosts a huge and well-known festival called the Carnival of Viareggio. It’s one of the biggest and most celebrated events in Europe, and it’s easy to understand why people flock to it.

The most popular part of this carnival is definitely the parades. They showcase huge, elaborate floats with pieces that move, and are traditionally made from paper mache. These floats often feature characters and scenes from well-known movies, TV shows, and other parts of pop culture, and have been a beloved tradition of the festival since 1873.

The decorated floats in this carnival are mainly a way to comment on society, and have been used to playfully critique current events since the carnival began in Victorian times. Originally a single weekend event marking the start of Lent, it has grown to last a month, with parades held every Sunday and on Shrove Tuesday.

Carnival floats have become increasingly detailed over the years, and this year’s were particularly eye-catching, gaining a lot of attention online for their creativity.

Red Riding Hood float at Tuscany carnival stuns social media

A single float really stood out on X, gaining hundreds of thousands of views. It featured Little Red Riding Hood and a menacing Wolf jumping from a homemade paper mache forest, all lit up with flashing lights.

Both the Wolf and Red had moving parts, making them appear lifelike. Red glanced around cautiously before reaching out to stroke the Wolf’s nose, even though it seemed risky.

While the Carnival of Venice is famous worldwide, many people don’t know about the equally stunning Carnival of Viareggio in Tuscany, Italy. This year, the celebrations kicked off with a spectacular display featuring floats inspired by the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. These weren’t created with artificial intelligence – they are the result of pure artistic skill, particularly from artist Luca Bertozzi.

— Mambo Italiano (@mamboitaliano__) February 2, 2026

Many floats also featured depictions of world leaders, offering a visual commentary on current events.

Everyone loved the Red Riding Hood and the Wolf float this year, but there’s still time for other artists to create something even more spectacular before the month ends. It’s comparable to last year’s amazing Witch King of Angmar float, inspired by the Lord of the Rings movies.

Videos of Pokemon parades from the new PokePark in Kanto have recently gone viral. The theme park, which is opening in Japan on February 5, 2026, is generating a lot of excitement.

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2026-02-04 00:19