Improvisation, instinct, and curiosity characterise the Carnival of Teana, one of the best known and attended in the Basilicata region. The main protagonists are the Bear and the Carnival, and the latter, on the last Saturday, hosts the “trial”, a parody of the “Passion of Christ”.

From the early hours of the morning, a large procession of masks, parades through the woods near the village, where the most distinctive characters meet: the “bride” and “groom” all dressed up, four carabinieri in strict uniform, a priest, a judge and two doctors.

Nobody speaks, so as not to be recognised; the only one to say a word—and it’s always the the same, “sausage”— is “u’ Pezzente”, a beggar who walks supported by a cane, and who collects coins and food in a jute bag.

Then, all dressed in black is the “Quaremma” (Lent), madly in love with Carnevale (Carnival), her husband; a poor peasant already lost in the fumes of alcohol, dragged along, staggering, by two policemen.

Among the masks we can also distinguish the bear, a wild figure with a menacing gait. This strange but lively procession proceeds into the historic centre with dancing and singing in dialect, until we witness the shooting of the “Carnuluvar”.