The ritual and the mystery of one of the oldest carnivals in Italy. A celebration of renewal, as befits the tradition of Carnival, which has its origins in the agro-pastoral world. This is the business card of the exhibition “Il Carnevale di Ottana”, a photographic reportage edited by Mario Lensi of the photographic group “Giglio Rosso”, which will be open at the Oratorio di San Carlo from Saturday 19th February (10.00a.m.).
The exhibition, which enjoys the patronage of the Municipality of Castelfiorentino, presents about thirty shots taken in 2020 by the author in Ottana, in the heart of Sardinia, where one of the oldest carnival traditions is held and therefore also most interesting from an anthropological point of view. At the center of the Carnival is the daily life of the peasant world, in which the masks interpret men (“sos merdùles”) or animals such as oxen (“sos boes”), pigs (“sos porcos”) donkeys (“sos molentes”) and so on. As it is typical of the carnival tradition (which is, essentially, a feast of renewal) the figure of the “old woman” (“Sa filonzana”) of which everyone is afraid and that embodies the past that dies compared to the rising state of the Carnival, symbol of the alternation of the seasons. The old woman is actually played by a man, an inversion of roles that hides the most archaic principle inherent in the carnival: the implementation of the mechanism of reversal, through which it is possible to become what you would not normally be, denying the order, roles and hierarchies that cage the human being as an individual social.
Among the strong points of the Ottana Carnival is the participation of all the children, who are involved by their parents and induced to cultivate this tradition, so that it can be handed down from generation to generation.
“The images – explains Mario Lensi, of the photographic group “Giglio Rosso” – narrate the mystery and the depth of the masks in the Barbaric tradition, from the intimacy of the preparations to the night parade among the fires. Real ancestral rites, handed down orally since the mists of time. An involving and wrapping experience, to live to taste the far away echoes”.
“We are happy – emphasizes the Deputy Mayor with responsibility for Culture, Claudia Centi – to sponsor this new event of the photographic group “Giglio Rosso”, which through the beautiful images made by Mario Lensi brings us to know and discover one of the carnival traditions that have survived over the centuries. An invitation to capture the most authentic essence of the Carnival and its origins, full of charm and mystery”.
The exhibition will remain open until Sunday 27th February observing the following schedule: Saturday and Sunday 10.00a.m.-12.00p.m., 4.00p.m.-7.00p.m.; all other days only in the afternoon 4.00p.m.-7.00p.m.