CARNEVALE DI IVREA — 2023
This series was made during Carnivale di Ivrea, a historic carnival in Italy. I attended the carnival through a personal connection and photographed events as they unfolded over the course of a few days.
From Sunday to Tuesday between 1pm and 5pm, there are oranges being thrown in all of the town’s squares. Ivrea becomes a place of collective participation, where thousands of people gather to celebrate and reenact.
At the centre of the carnival is the Battaglia delle Arance — an orange-throwing battle that shuts down the town and fills its streets, squares, and bridges. From early afternoon, oranges are thrown at close range, bodies collide, and injuries are expected and worn proudly.
In medieval times it was tradition that the Baron of the land would act out ‘jus prima noctis’ by taking a bride’s virginity on the night of her wedding. It is said that the Vezzosa Mugnaia (Miller’s Daughter) Violetta refuted this and beheaded the baron, setting the town free with a heroic act of rebellion.
For me, these photographs are about gathering — about how people come together through celebration and shared experience. I am interested in the anthropology of people: how communities mark time, remember history, and create moments where individuals become part of something collective.
This project sits alongside my wider interest in celebrations, community, and public space. The ways people use ritual to connect, belong, and recognise themselves within a group.
Alongside this series is a publication recounting one day at the carnival, made in collaboration with my partner.
︎︎︎ Designed and bound by Nicoletta Corbett
︎︎︎ Photography by myself & Nicoletta Corbett
Printed by Booths, Penryn, Cornwall