From 6 to 16 February colourful floats will be making their way along the streets of Rome as it is carnival time, a festival that is steeped in popular tradition but has a modern feel about it.

Concerts, comedians, costume parades and horsemanship fill the arteries of the centre and the suburbs, whilst galleries and museums are putting on important shows with a carnival theme.

Celebrations officially open on Saturday 6 in the afternoon with a “Grand Procession”, which starts in Piazza del Popolo and goes down Via del Corso, just as a famous horse race did in times past.