Mascorada inte Selva

The carnival in Selva di Cadore... stories tell that it began in the early post-war years in 1922, when many people, after a period of fear and confinement, ventured out again into the streets. As a result, it became the first memorable carnival.

On January 6, the draftees went to fetch the carnival at Pescul "sa al Nat," which, as tradition tells, arrived in the valley through the Forada pass from San Vito. On Fat Tuesday, the girls walked through the streets of the village wearing the so-called “màscora da la farìna” (mask of flour), with an old handkerchief on their shoulders, going from door to door asking for a handful of flour and some eggs. This collection served to prepare the “fuòie rostide” or crostoli and the “grafògn” for Thursday. Fat Thursday was dedicated to masks. They would set off from the square in Selva, with two “Matazìgn” alongside the “Lachè,” running around the carnival in a procession.

Moreover, there were some ugly masks: the “Patafògn,” dressed in ragged clothes with their faces all black. They would continue along the “Passadora,” the ascent from Selva to Santa Fosca, reaching as far as Pascùl. Among all the masks, one stood out with a hat adorned with pine cones, the “King of the Forest.” They danced in the square of Santa Fosca, accompanied by musicians and together with all the participants and people who had come to see the Carnival.