The Carnival of Viareggio is one of Italy's great spectacles — a four-Sunday procession held each February along the Passeggiata Margherita, featuring enormous papier-mâché floats built by competing workshops (called maestranze) over the preceding months. The floats are sharply political, caricaturing politicians and public figures with wit and exaggeration, a tradition unbroken since the first procession in 1873. On parade Sundays the seafront promenade closes to traffic and becomes a river of costumes, music, and crowds. Grandstand tickets can be booked in advance through the official Carnival foundation website; standing room along the route is free.