Carnival - Sappada

One of the most beloved traditions by the inhabitants of Sappada is the Carnival ( Vosenòcht ), that become occasion of fun, amusement and jokes, but also opportunity to enliven local traditions and popular culture. Its real protagonists are the masks, the so-called letter .
Since other people should not recognize the dressed-up, they wear wooden engraved masks ( lòrvn ), often handed down from generation to generation. The Carnival celebrations cover a period of time of three weekends, each one dedicated to a different social class:

• The Beggars’ Sunday ( Pèttlar sunntach ), when everyone wears rags;

• The Peasants’ Sunday ( Paurn sunntach ), that recalls past agricultural jobs;

• The Lords’ Sunday ( Hearn sunntach ), when people wear and show off their best clothes and the most refined garment.

Besides these celebrations there are on Thursday ( Vaastign pfinzntòk ), the Monday parade by the rollate ( Vreès montach ) and the No club , a funny “ski” masquerade on Tuesday ( Schpaib ertach ).
Indisputable protagonist of the Carnival in Sappada is the rollate, a rather austere and impressive character. He wears a particular fur-coat that reminds of a bear’s fur and a wooden mask hides his face. These engraved masks have the hard and marked features of the mountain people and can be considered real craft masterpieces.
The name rollate derives from rolln , i.e. those spherical bells, which are tied up with a chain around the waistline and make a loud sound while he is walking through the village. The rollate also wears striped trousers made out of linen and woollen canvas ( hile , once used to cover cows in winter) and hobnailed boots, has a red woollen wisp on his hood and a red or white handkerchief around the neck (whether the man is married or not). He holds a broom in the hand, which he generally uses to threaten kids and big lads as a joke.