Roman Carnival (Carnevale di Roma)

Research Status: Moderate Last Updated: 2025-01-23 Diary Coverage: Up to 1881-02-23

The traditional pre-Lenten carnival celebration in Rome, one of the most famous festivals in 19th-century Europe. The Roman Carnival was particularly renowned for its horse races (Corsa dei Barberi), masked balls, and the Corso procession.

Historical Context

By the 1880s, the Roman Carnival was declining from its 18th-century heyday but remained a major social event. Wealthy Europeans, including many Russians, would spend the carnival season in Rome attending balls and watching the spectacles.

Key Elements

• Corsa dei Barberi (Barberi horse race): Riderless horses raced down the Corso
• The Corso: Via del Corso, Rome's main street, where processions of carriages and masked revelers paraded
• Masked balls: Elaborate costume balls at palaces and hotels
• Street celebrations: Public festivities with confetti, flowers, and moccoletti (candles)

In Literature and Art

The Roman Carnival fascinated 19th-century writers and artists. Goethe wrote extensively about it, as did many other travelers. It represented exotic Italian passion and freedom contrasting with northern European restraint.

Diary References

• February 23, 1881: Marie reads newspaper accounts of carnival balls in Rome, listing "tous ces noms romains et la Course des Barbieri et le Corso." She writes: "Cela vous prend à la gorge comme le mot de Gambetta" (It grabs you by the throat like Gambetta's words). She avoids reading about Rome because "ça me rend trop triste" (it makes me too sad).

Marie's Longing

The Roman Carnival represents everything Marie is missing: youth, gaiety, Italian beauty, social brilliance. Reading about it causes physical pain ("prend à la gorge"). Her nostalgia for Italy combines with her sense of wasted youth and forced isolation in Paris.

Sources

• 19th-century Roman Carnival history
• Goethe's "Italian Journey"
• Studies of expatriate life in 1880s Rome