Le premier récit écrit date de 1294 par le comte de Provence, Charles II duc d'Anjou qui "vient passer les fêtes du carnaval dans sa bonne ville de Nice". Aux XIVe et XVe siècles, le carnaval est avant tout une fête populaire. À la Renaissance, les grands bals de carnaval et les mascarades se déroulent dans les ruelles de la ville, tandis qu'au XVIIIe siècle, l'influence du carnaval vénitien favorise les bals masqués.
In the second half of the 19th century, Nice became the “capital of winter resorts”. The carnival takes place mainly on “le Cours”, a high place of social life. In 1871, the Parisian chaos created by the Commune frightened the rich wintering members of the nobility. In order to promote the city of Nice and to show the serenity that reigns there, a festival committee was created in 1873. This committee set up the carnival as a real show, then organized parades of floats, masquerades, and cavalcades for the Mardi Gras. Two great artists from Nice, Alexis Mossa and his son Gustav-Adolf Mossa were in turn or together “magiers du Roy”.
They are the true spiritual fathers of His Majesty’s Carnival and Court. Alexis Mossa created the first carnival albums which will serve as a model for the New Orleans carnival. He made the first float for His Majesty’s Carnival in 1882 and added Madame Carnaval to it in 1893. Gustav-Adolf Mossa’s symbolist influence is evident and inspires him with characters from Greco-Latin and popular cultures who depict, according to his fantasy, local or international events. Playwright and scenographer of a universe that is both satirical and marvelous, of great richness and variety, he gives carnival art its letters of nobility and makes Nice a major city in the world of festivities.
Le 14 février 1882, la traditionnelle marionnette de paille et de chiffon qui restait immobile sur la place de la Préfecture se transforme en marionnette royale qui défile comme ses homologues. En 1892, pour la première fois à Nice, sous le nom de "confetti de Paris", le confetti moderne en papier qui avait été lancé l'année précédente au carnaval de Paris. Jusqu'en 1892, seuls les confettis en plâtre, également appelés "confettis italiens", avaient été utilisés au carnaval de Nice. Utilisé parallèlement aux confettis en papier, il a finalement été interdit à Nice en 1955.
Pendant le Carême à Paris, le 14 mars 1912, un cortège de groupes et de chars du Carnaval de Nice a défilé dans la capitale en même temps que deux autres cortèges carnavalesques 2. Le Petit Journal a voulu marquer son demi-siècle d'existence en invitant le Carnaval de Nice à Paris. Cinq chars niçois sont présents : S. M. Carnaval XXXX, la Rascasse, le Carnaval, les Gardiens du Louvre et la Vie chère. Le char des Gardiens du Louvre fait référence au célèbre vol de la Joconde, qui a eu lieu l'année précédente. Le char est tiré par un âne en carton portant la célèbre tiare de Saïtapharnès, un faux acheté comme authentique par le Louvre en 1885.
Carnival has not escaped the events of history. The First and Second World Wars obviously played disruptive games with the festivities by preventing the king from going out. In 1914 and 1939, the carnivals with the themes “Perseus on Pegasus” and “King of Joy and Laughter” went on normally, while in 1915 and 1940 the carnival was canceled. The theme then seemed curiously ironic, being “King of Fools” and “Sire of Madness” respectively. This premonition came true again in 1991 when it was announced that there would be a king who never came out, another “King of Fools”, because of the risk of attacks due to the Gulf War.
Depuis un demi-siècle, des événements traditionnels accompagnent le carnaval. C'est à cette époque qu'a été créé le bain carnavalesque, qui est devenu le "Carnastring" et plus tard, d'autres activités telles que le "Carnacourse" (course de garçons de café) et la "Carnasocca" (dégustation du plat traditionnel de Nice, la socca). Un comité se réunit depuis une trentaine d'années, sous la présidence d'une personnalité, pour élire la reine du carnaval et ses dauphines. La reine qui ouvrira chaque bataille de fleurs sur son char sera ensuite chargée de représenter ce festival lors de voyages officiels.
Famous illustrators made the posters for the Nice carnival, including Adolphe Léon Willette, Emmanuel Costa, Gustav-Adolf Mossa, Raymond Moretti, and Cyril de La Patellière.
In 1985, the theme of the Nice carnival was “The King of Advertising”. Jean Oltra and Gaspare Di Caro, organized this carnival, the first festival of the Commedia dell’Arte. Gaspare Di Caro in 1986 for the carnival “King of the cities of the world” organized the first rapprochement between the carnival of Nice and those of Venice and Viareggio.
In 1994, the theme of the Nice carnival was “The King of the Arts” and for the first time the artists of the “Nice School” took part: Arman, Ben, Jean-Claude Farhi, Claude Gilli, Patrick Moya, Théo Tobiasse, etc. In 2000, a turning point came when Serguei, a cartoonist for the newspaper Le Monde, was called in to draw the Corsi tanks and flower battles. The same year, the National Education and the OCCE worked with the Nice Tourist and Convention Bureau on an educational activity on the theme of carnival.
Thus, one thousand schoolchildren (two thousand in the year 2000) followed the king in dance and song. In 2002, the year of the changeover to the euro, the “King of Euroland” followed. An appeal was made to the cartoonists of the biggest international newspapers to become magiers for the time of a carnival. In this way, the carnival remains a forum for expressing the current ills of our society.
From 2005 to 2008, all the events took place on the Promenade des Anglais because of the works and the passage of the tramway. This change of millennium also led to an improvement of the floats which now includes new technologies and materials as well as the collaboration of sculptors. In 2007, the new features included free rides, the creation of a fun entertainment area in the Albert-Ier garden (tightrope walkers, make-up artists, and kites), as well as the presence of 160 carnivals that play the role of troublemakers for the festivities. In 2009, the carnival returned to Place Masséna5. A giant screen and traditional stands were installed for the occasion on square 5.
Pour en savoir plus sur Nice, nous vous invitons à réserver l'accès au site web de la Commission européenne. Visite à pied de Nice disponibles sur ce site.
Nous vous invitons également à consulter le site web officiel de la Carnaval de Nice
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