Carnevale di Cento 2027 Italy – Dates & Details

Carnevale di Cento 2027 takes place on five Sundays: 31 January and 7, 14, 21 and 28 February 2027. It is a winter carnival in the first months of the year, making it a perfect weekend trip in Emilia-Romagna. Visitors can choose one Sunday for a day trip, or return across several weekends to see how the floats, costumes, and atmosphere build toward the finale.

Carnevale di Cento is one of Italy’s most famous historical carnivals, officially recognised by the Italian Ministry of Culture as a Historical Carnival. It is known as Cento Carnevale d’Europa because it grew into a major international carnival event, combining deep local tradition with a spectacular, European-scale show. The carnival is closely tied to the community of Cento, with local associations spending the whole year designing, building, and perfecting their giant allegorical floats.

The allegorical floats as they are known today began in 1870, when the first parade featured floats and enormous papier-mâché characters. Today, the floats are extraordinary, imposing, and colourful self-propelled figures made by master papier-mâché makers, complete with mechanical movements, music, dancers, and performers on board. Each year, the carnival associations compete for the most iconic and representative float, with an official jury choosing the winner after the five Sundays of parades.

The “gettito” is one of the most popular and loved traditions of the Carnival of Cento. During the parade, performers throw sweets, candies, fluffy toys, dolls, footballs, and other gifts from the towers of the floats to the crowd. It reaches its climax in Piazza Guercino, where the “gettito” rains down in front of the jury. Locals are especially fond of this tradition, and even private residents join in by throwing sweets and objects from their windows.

The carnival takes place in the historic centre of Cento, in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, with Piazza Guercino as its nerve centre. The parade route runs from Piazzale Bonzagni toward Rocca Castle, through Corso Guercino, and into Piazza Guercino. Tasi is the King of the Carnival and the mask of Cento, inspired by a farmer of the early 1900s, Luigi Tasini. At the end of the carnival, his will is read aloud before his papier-mâché figure is set on fire, closing the festivities in true Cento style.