Carnevale di Casale Monferrato

Why it's special

Gipin and Catlinin, Casale's traditional Carnival couple, are played each year by a pair from a different quartiere or frazione of the town. Anyone can join the parade in costume, alone, as a couple or in a group, and build a float out of cardboard, a nod to the Amici del Po's 'Galleggia non galleggia' race of home-made boats.

Programme · 2025

Gipin and Catlinin played by Giacomo Alcuri and Claudia Gnani.

• The parade starts around 15:00, and participants register (free) from about 14:00 at the start, or online beforehand through the comune's Carnival page.
• The route has been Via Saffi, Piazza Mazzini, Via Roma, Via Luigi Canina, Via Mameli and Via Corte d'Appello, ending back in Piazza Mazzini for the prizes.
• The date changes each year with Lent; watch the comune's site and the local press in January.

Casale's Carnival is one afternoon in the historic centre, on a Saturday before Lent. It is led by Gipin and Catlinin, the town's traditional Carnival masks, a couple played each year by residents of a different quartiere or frazione of Casale Monferrato.

The parade sets off from the Teatro Municipale with a band and majorettes from nearby Occimiano, goes along Via Saffi to Piazza Mazzini, where the masks and floats are presented, then loops through Via Roma, Via Canina, Via Mameli and Via Corte d'Appello back to the square for the prizes. Anyone can take part in costume, as a single mask, a couple or a group, and there is a prize for the best float made of cardboard. That category borrows from the 'Galleggia non galleggia' race of home-made boats that the Amici del Po hold on the river.

The comune brought the Carnival back in 2023, after two years without it, and it ran again in February 2024 and March 2025. The 2026 edition was not found in the online press, and the 2027 date had not been announced as of October 2026. Expect it to be announced in January, with online registration for the mask and float prizes.