Avanzini: satire, painting, and carnival: one hundred years of Viareggio genius

Viareggio celebrates the centenary of the birth of Silvano Avanzini, a central figure in the Carnival and Italian satirical art, with an exhibition that promises to be one of the most significant cultural events of the year. Opened in the prestigious Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Lucca, "Silvano Avanzini. Satire and Painting," curated by Antonella Serafini, explores two seemingly opposing yet profoundly complementary aspects of the artist: carnival satire and intimate painting.

Avanzini, born in Viareggio in 1925, was not only the most insightful interpreter of political satire on papier-mâché floats, becoming the father of Viareggio Carnival satire, but also a refined painter, rooted in a poetic universe of calm and introspection. His name is inextricably linked to the Viareggio Carnival, a symbol of the fusion of popular creativity and social analysis that makes this Tuscan event unique. Between the postwar period and the dawn of the new millennium, Avanzini created over fifty first-class floats, repeatedly winning the most coveted awards and redefining the language of courageous satire. His float "Carnevale al Verte," dating from the early 1960s, is considered by historians to be the first float entirely dedicated to the satirical denunciation of political power.

But it would be reductive to think of Avanzini merely as a brilliant float designer. His painting reveals a profoundly diverse soul, made up of languid atmospheres, silent landscapes, rare and magical interiors in which light and color are tools for expressing moods and memories. The contrast between his large, mobile carnivalesque constructions, capable of exploring the social and political present, and the delicate figuration of his paintings demonstrates the uniqueness of an artist capable of forging a dialogue between reason and sentiment, satire and poetry, as highlighted by curator Serafini.

The exhibition, supported by the Banca del Monte di Lucca Foundation and other local institutions, enjoys the patronage of the Viareggio Carnival Foundation, and interprets Avanzini as a true intellectual, skilled in the art of satire and visual dialogue. The exhibition showcases not only an artist, but a key chapter in Tuscan and Italian identity: Viareggio's satire, a popular tradition born as an exercise in freedom, here becomes a narrative of our times. Avanzini moved beyond simple parody to create biting allegories, true moving chronicles that reached audiences across Italy, becoming a symbol of the city's keen understanding and social commentary.

Throughout his long career, Silvano Avanzini also distinguished himself on a civic level: during World War II, he served as a partisan in the Tuscan Resistance, a commitment that later earned him institutional recognition from the President of the Republic. After the conflict, he returned to Viareggio, ushering in a period of artistic fervor that would also involve his family: one of his sons, Alessandro, followed in his father's footsteps as a cart builder. The Avanzini dynasty today represents excellence in the Viareggio artistic tradition, capable of renewing the city's narrative across generations.

The Lucca exhibition alternates large sketches, photographs, historical documents, cart models, and above all paintings: works that reveal a predilection for nature, the Tuscan countryside, the corners of the marshland, but also interiors filled with silence and energy. While the satire of the allegorical carts explodes with color and irony, Avanzini's painting is stripped back, essential, and rarefied. Each canvas is an invitation to reflection, to listen to the most subtle emotions.

Avanzini's artistic work has received no shortage of recognition: over the years, he has participated in numerous exhibitions in Italy and abroad, distinguishing himself as a sculptor and painter, winning awards such as the one presided over by Carlo Carrà, and garnering critical attention even outside the context of Carnival. Some of his papier-mâché works, exhibited in Paris, are memorable, testifying to a versatility and sculptural ability that transcends Italy's borders.

Avanzini's Carnival is not just a celebration, but a tool for collective consciousness. His often scathing satire remains in the memory not only as a political critique but as an act of civic hope. Painting, on the other hand, is his respite, a place of intimacy, a diary layered with light, melancholy, and a desire for profound understanding.

The exhibition, accompanied by a catalog and enriched by workshops and meetings for families, offers various interpretations: the adventure of Carnival and the visual poetry of painting are the artist's two souls and, at the same time, two faces of contemporary Tuscany. Avanzini's memory lives on in the story of his city, far beyond the floats that for decades have paraded along the waterfront.

With this retrospective, Viareggio brings to the public the complexity and humanity of a protagonist who combined irony and sentiment, civic engagement and beauty, making satire a tool for participation and painting an act of aesthetic resistance. The journey through his universe is an invitation to discover the power of creativity as a way to understand and love our time.