She marches in the procession wrapped in a black dress, clutching in her arms a puppet in swaddling clothes, “Carnevalicchio,” her son, dressed in white in contrast to his mother and symbolizing renewal. “Carnevalone,” father and husband, advances slowly, covered by a black cloak that fails to hide his swollen and disproportionate belly: old and bearded, he moves “riding” a poor donkey. On his shoulders and on the sides of the animal that carries him, signs of insults and denunciations are hung, pills of wisdom, expressions of satire and humor reflecting the character of the Montescaglioso community. The carnival celebrations that take place in many towns in Basilicata are an important piece of the precious mosaic of traditions that make Basilicata a culturally diverse land. Its location in the heart of Southern Italy has historically made it a crossroads of various currents and influences, which over time have merged to give rise to entirely original identity expressions.