Until 1870, during Carnival, the people poured into the streets prey to a temporary collective madness. Via del Corso was transformed into an open-air theater where traditional masks - Cassandrino, Rugantino, Meo Patacca - were accompanied by costumes taken from everyday life: "the doctor", "the brigand", "the fallen noble". Piazza del Popolo was instead the starting point for the wild race of Berber horses. The final act of the Carnival, on the evening of Shrove Tuesday, was the evocative Corsa dei Moccoletti, that is, made by holding candles or candles and trying, while running, to extinguish the flames of others. All the events were experienced as a spectacle of irresistible charm by foreign travelers visiting the city and by the artists, who enthusiastically described them in their works.