Tuesday before Ash Wednesday · Italian Carnival tradition
For the masked groups parading in the masked processions of Italian cities, the marching bands and choruses accompanying the allegorical floats, the papier-mâché and leather mask ateliers dressing the audience of the final evenings, the sponsor brands of the parades (banks, insurance, beverages, confectionery, telecoms, automotive), the pro loco and the city committees running the closing evenings, the pastry shops and workshops of chiacchiere and castagnole stocking the Martedì Grasso windows, the Carnival choruses and dance schools entering the piazza and the local press documenting the event — coordinated costumes for the masked groups, uniforms for the bands, gift kits for the sponsors setting up their hospitality, shopper and gadget for the parade audience, limited editions for the mask collections and packaged chiacchiere, welcome packs for the delegations of twin Carnivals arriving from other Italian and foreign cities — delivered in time for the opening of the closing evenings of the Martedì Grasso.
Martedì Grasso — the last day of the Italian Carnival before Lent — is the evening when the Carnival events of Italian cities close, with the final masked processions, the handing-over of the keys of the city to Carnival according to tradition, the lighting of the closing bonfires, the distribution of chiacchiere, castagnole, galani and berlingozzi in the piazzas, and the great closing parade bringing together the masked groups of the city Carnival. In Italy Carnival is a tradition rooted in every region: the Carnival of Putignano (Bari) is the oldest in Europe, with documents attesting its celebration since 1394; the Carnival of Viareggio (Lucca) is famous for its allegorical papier-mâché floats and the work of its seaside workshops; the Carnival of Venice preserves the tradition of commedia dell’arte masks and the artisan mask-makers; the Carnival of Ivrea (Turin) is known for the Battle of the Oranges; the Carnival of Cento (Ferrara) follows the Rio model with its plaster floats; the Carnival of Acireale (Catania) is famous for its flower-decorated papier-mâché floats.
For the cities of the Italian Carnival, Corp-Merch.IT runs the full chain from its operational hub for the masked groups, the marching bands, the mask ateliers, the sponsor brands of the parades and the city committees: intake of the masked group’s, sponsor brand’s or atelier’s master artwork (AI, EPS, PDF/X-4 with CMYK images at 300 dpi, FOGRA39 colour profile for print, Pantone for textiles), adaptation to the different customisation techniques (water-based screen-printing on GOTS-certified organic cotton for band uniforms and youth band kits, sublimation printing on synthetic fabrics for parade scenography, computer embroidery on felt and velvet for coordinated costumes of masked groups, hot-foil printing on cassettes for evening programmes and masked procession booklets, laser engraving on the finest woods for festival trophies, screen-printing on Faenza ceramics for committee limited editions, artisan work on Murano glass for the collectible collections of Venetian masks), physical pre-production sample with Pantone colour map and technical sheet, production on Italian supply chains (Como textile, Scandicci leather, Maniago steel, Faenza ceramics, Murano glass, Fabriano paper, Collodi wood) and delivery to the masked procession venue, the masked group’s atelier, the Carnival committee warehouse or the sponsor brand’s consolidation warehouse on slots confirmed by the local organisation.
The full masked group (twenty to one hundred participants depending on the city) needs coordinated uniforms: sweatshirt in GOTS-certified organic cotton or wool blend with computer-embroidered group symbol, polo for rehearsal days, the coordinated shopper for personal effects during the parade, silk or cotton scarf or bandana with the Carnival graphic. The mask atelier needs materials for its craft work (papier-mâché bases, decoration kits, packaging for finished mask collections) and numbered limited editions for collectors. The marching band and the Carnival chorus require coordinated uniforms: jacket, shirt, tie or bow tie, leather shopper for scores and instruments. The sponsor brand setting up a hospitality area along the masked procession wants gift kits for invited guests (coordinated gadgets, limited editions, branded shoppers). The parade audience looks for Carnival gadgets and souvenirs (pins, shoppers, sweatshirts, bandanas, caps, small coordinated objects). The delegation of the twin Carnival arriving from another Italian or foreign city (historical Carnival twinnings between Putignano, Viareggio, Venice and various European and non-European Carnivals) wants welcome packs delivered on arrival.
Most masked groups, sponsor brands and Carnival committees running a merch programme around the Italian Carnival coordinate their operations from their city base, but launching a coordinated uniform collection, a coordinated shopper line or a limited-edition mask or Carnival sweet collection requires a district supply chain that our hub can orchestrate on Italian territory. Como for silk and silk textiles, Scandicci for leather and small leather goods, Maniago for steel and metal hardware, Murano for artistic glass, Faenza for ceramics, Padua for technical paperboard, Fabriano for the paper of the evening programmes, Collodi for wooden objects and small engravings: the hub lets us consolidate the commissioner’s artwork files, run a physical pre-production sample through Italian supply chains and ship the batch to the masked procession city, the masked group’s atelier or the sponsor brand’s consolidation warehouse on a tight 24-to-48-hour courier window from the national territory. For programmes involving a delegation from a twinned foreign Carnival (historical twinnings between Putignano, Viareggio, Venice and European Carnivals) we handle bilingual materials (Italian and English as a minimum) and, on request, full multilingual releases with translations aligned to ISO 17100.
The Martedì Grasso window is concentrated and must be planned against a calendar that includes set-up days of the masked processions opening the previous Thursday, the Saturday and Sunday general rehearsals, the weekend parades, the closing masked procession of Martedì Grasso, the handing-over of the keys to Carnival, the lighting of the closing bonfires and the closing evening with the distribution of chiacchiere and castagnole in the piazzas. For masked groups and sponsor brands the gap between confirmation of the Carnival graphic and the opening of the closing masked procession is normally less than ten weeks, and any object that has to be at the masked group’s meeting point, the mask atelier or the Carnival committee warehouse for the first evening must be closed and shipped at least one week before the closing evening. We work backwards from that moment: production must close two-to-three weeks before the evening; the courier slot must be booked for the Friday or Saturday of Carnival week; the addressee list must be finalised at the same time as the masked procession calendar is confirmed; the specific details of the Martedì Grasso evening (year, edition number, claim) only add a small reprint to an already-produced neutral graphic base.
For Italian clients with VAT registration the invoice is issued through the Agenzia delle Entrate’s Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) with the application of the 22% VAT rate in EUR; reduced rates of 4%, 5% or 10% are available on the product categories that provide for them (publishing, works of art, typical Carnival products, limited editions of authored masks). Reverse charge for intra-EU buyers registered in VIES, split payment for public administration entities, recipient code or PEC for the electronic delivery of the invoice. For clients subject to CSRD reporting (D.Lgs. 125/2024 transposing Directive (EU) 2022/2464) we attach a per-order sustainability sheet with Scope 3 CO₂e estimate per the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain on the internal legs and from the indicated production supply chains.
Sweatshirt in GOTS-certified organic cotton or wool blend with computer-embroidered group symbol, polo for rehearsal days, coordinated shopper in durable fabric, silk or cotton scarf or bandana with the Carnival graphic, metallic badge for marching band and Carnival chorus uniforms.
Commedia dell’arte masks in hand-painted papier-mâché or printed leather, numbered and certified Venetian mask collections, limited packaging for the chiacchiere, castagnole, galani and berlingozzi collections, technical paperboard coffer boxes for collectors and Italian confectionery tradition brands.
Coordinated gadgets (Faenza ceramics mugs, GOTS organic cotton shoppers, small Scandicci leather goods, Maniago steel accessories), numbered limited editions for sponsor top customers, packaging coordinated with the brand’s institutional colours, welcome kits for the guests of hospitality areas set up along the masked procession.
Welcome packs for delegations of Italian and foreign twinned Carnivals (historical twinnings between Putignano, Viareggio, Venice, Cento, Acireale, Fano, Gambettola and other European and non-European Carnivals): coordinated shopper, city gadget, small Faenza ceramic object, bilingual agenda, traditional mask kit, limited edition of the typical Carnival sweet.
Before kicking off production, artwork, quantities per recipient, packaging and named receiving point must be locked. The final delivery address is fixed against the Carnival calendar issued by the municipal administration of the city and the Carnival committee in charge of the masked procession: the historic centre of the city has regulated loading lanes; the masked group’s atelier has its own delivery times that must be coordinated with the contacts; the Carnival committee warehouse has loading windows coordinated with the contacts of each city; the sponsor brand’s consolidation warehouse is often located away from the historic centre and must be reached with adequate couriers. The ZTL areas of Italian historic centres condition the access of couriers, and most teams opt for early-morning or post-19:30 deliveries, when heavy vehicles are again admitted to the ZTL areas of the historic centre.
For an Italian programme routed via the national hub, deliveries are consolidated at the hub and shipped to the Carnival city, the masked group’s atelier or the Carnival committee warehouse with 24-to-48-hour windows via BRT, SDA, GLS or DHL Express Italy, on appointment for venues requiring phone pre-notice. For programmes above 1,000 pieces we propose appointment delivery with phone pre-notice and, on request, on-site installation by our staff at the masked group’s atelier or the Carnival committee warehouse. For materials requiring controlled environmental conditions (silk, leather, ceramics, glass, papier-mâché of the masks) we coordinate climate-controlled transport with specialised partners. For welcome kits bound for twinned Carnival delegations we handle multilingual labelling (Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese) and tamper-evident pouch packaging with bilingual packing lists addressed to the recipient.
Eight to ten weeks is the safest window for GOTS-certified organic cotton coordinated uniforms, parade audience shoppers, sponsor gift kits for the Italian Carnival and welcome packs for twinned Carnival delegations. Tighter programmes are only possible after confirming stock, print methods and access to the historic centre of the city.
Only after the Carnival committee or the masked group’s atelier has confirmed the loading window, the lane access and the named recipient. For limited editions of papier-mâché masks and coordinated uniforms specific packaging conditions must be agreed.
Yes. Coordinated uniforms for masked groups, mask limited editions for ateliers, sponsor gift kits and welcome packs for twinned Carnival delegations can be packed and labelled as separate batches, each tied to its own audience and each delivery point.
No. Corp-Merch.IT is an external, independent B2B supplier that helps masked groups, marching bands, mask ateliers, sponsor brands, pro loco, Carnival committees and twinned Carnival delegations prepare their merch for the Italian Carnival. It does not organise, sponsor or represent the municipal administrations of the Carnival cities or the individual Carnival committees.
Corp-Merch.IT is an external, independent B2B supplier for the masked groups, marching bands, mask ateliers, sponsor brands and Carnival committees of Italian cities. This page helps teams prepare their merch for the closing evening of Martedì Grasso; it does not represent municipal administrations, Carnival committees, pro loco or any sponsor of the Italian Carnival.