The Marches region main Carnevale is held in Ascoli Piceno, a valley town of some 55 thousand surrounded by mountains on three sides. It is located about 110 miles (175 kilometers) southeast of Perugia, the capital of the neighboring region of Umbria. According to local legend Ascoli Piceno was founded when a woodpecker led a band of nomadic shepherds to the sliver of land in between two rivers on which the town now stands. So you may wish to look for woodpecker masks at Carnevale. Most of the action takes place in the Piazza del Populo (Square of the People), which is richly decorated for the festivities.
This Carnevale has quite a set of characters. The procession is opened by a town crier, the Grand Georges. You will find the Grosse Biesse (the Fat Beast), which is about 20 yards or meters long. This beast weighs over 13 tons and sports a long pointed tail, a crocodile's head, scales, a long neck, and large teeth. Grosse Biesse is dragon-like creature with a crested back who spits confetti instead of fire. It is accompanied by about fifty "biessons" (beasties). Tradition has it that trolls once lived in nearby caves and when frightened by the Fat Beast they invaded the town. Luckily enough Nos Petite (Our Little One) could make peace among the trolls, the Fat Beast, and the local populace. We could use his negotiating skills today. Then there is the puppet Gugusse, a cheery little fellow who is constantly placed on a tarpaulin and thrown in the air. When he isn't around, people from the crowd, mostly women, get to replace him. I don't really know if they are volunteers or not.
Other Carnevale participants include The Haute Cour marchoise, the Macrales de la Famenne, the Diables de la Famenne, the Balo