Around 1985, I saw a photo of Venice during Carnival (Carnevale), which included masked and costumed revelers, it has been in my “Top 10“list of visits since then.
What I don’t like about this event:
- The beautiful city of Venice
- A great 10-day party in the streets.
- Fantastic costumes
- Italian food
CarnivalCarnevale) is the annual event in Venice during the ten days leading up to Lent, the last night is Shrove Tuesday in which there are several important dances. Of course, this is not just a Venetian tradition; Think of Mardi Gras in Rio or Trinidad around the same time of year, but my interest in fancy masquerade balls and beautiful costumes is far greater than seeing dancers in floss bikinis. The origin of the word carnevale is Latin (carnem levare or carnelevarium) and suggests a “goodbye to meat”, which was traditionally abandoned in the weeks of self-denial, during the period of Lent.
The history of the masks and the masquerade dates back to Roman times, there are records of the festival from 1162. The Romans celebrated the first part of the year with a fertility festival where masks were used by all levels of society, including slaves. . The Carnevale di Venezia enjoyed a long period of infamy and notoriety during the 17th century, up to the time of Napoleon’s conquest in 1797. At the height of this event, the festival began on December 26 and ended sometime in the spring. This period of gambling and partying coincided with the loss of prominence and wealth in the region, as the power centers of Holland and Great Britain expanded their commercial reach. The celebration continued to decline and was, in fact, banned in 1930 by Mussolini. A group of Venetians and lovers of Venice reinitiated the tradition in 1979.
Today the Carnevale it is limited to the ten-day period before Lent and is a major tourist attraction. The city is very busy, hotels are expensive, restaurants are full, and the streets are sometimes just jammed. There are websites and tour groups totally dedicated to the event. The variety of party events is aimed at the rich and sophisticated (dance and music), families with children (chocolate and puppets), and the college crowd (pub crawls).
You can choose to participate in the carnival celebrations in various ways depending on your tastes, energy level and budget. You can simply walk the streets or sit in a cafe and watch the amazing costumed characters strolling the streets. Spend some time at Piazzo San Marco, there are all kinds of special performances during the day and at night. Choose to paint your face and have fun. Or you can buy tickets to any number of events, ranging from very affordable to very expensive.
We booked two nights in a great hotel near Piazza San Marco. The arrival in Venice was actually easier than anticipated; There is a lot of signage, large car parks and a central arrival point for the water transit system. Tea vaporetti (water buses) are very efficient, there are multiple routes and destinations available, at a minimum each visitor will end up in # 1 or # 2 at some point, running on the Canal Grande and Canale delle Giudecca (respectively). Buy an unlimited multi-day ticket; you will end up using the system.
Venice at any time of the year is beautiful; there are endless museums, galleries and historic buildings to engage all kinds of interests. Two things that I highly recommend;
- A visit to the island of Murano where the glass factories are located. You can take the “scenic” boat ride that we did by mistake and really see all the islands or go straight. Regardless, Murano is full of glass and restaurants and is a nice break from the crowds in Venice.
- Tour of the secret itineraries of the Doge’s Palace. This tour is something beyond the normal tour and it is really fun!
