The Carnival of Domodossola is one of the oldest and most awaited events in the Val d’Ossola, both for its centuries-old tradition and for the fervor with which it is welcomed in the city every year, which, for the occasion, is tinged with yellow, the color of polenta and a symbol of this event. The central characters of the Domese Carnival are the Togn and the Cia, a couple of betrothed to whom the mayor hands over the keys of the city at the beginning of the 10 days of celebration, which end with the wedding of the couple on Carnival Sunday, the day on which the traditional parade of allegorical floats and masks also takes place.
During the concluding day in Piazza Mercato you can find the pulentatt, who mix the polenta in copper cauldrons and prepare the sciriuii, pork sausages prepared exclusively for this event. The masks of the Togn and the Cia traditionally come from two districts of the city, the Motta and the Briona. The seventeenth-century legend tells that the two loved each other deeply, but that their union was opposed by her wealthy family. However, after the boy’s insistence, the family would have consented to the marriage, celebrated with great pomp in the square.