Magnificent and noble: Venice Carnival is celebrated this year

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Venice is known for its gondolas and water canals. Tourists can always be found in this city. At the beginning of the year, the city in northern Italy attracts the attention of audiences who cannot take their eyes off the colorful theater plays. When Venice is overflowing with costumed creatures and the smell of sweet Frittelle cake is everywhere, then it’s Carnival. The Venice Carnival officially opens on February 3 and the festivities end on February 13, 2024.

In the spirit of Marco Polo

The festival season in Venice kicked off on Sunday, January 28, with a huge boat parade through the canals of the Italian lagoon city. This time, the festival is about the legendary Asian traveler Marco Polo (1254-1324), who died 700 years ago. The slogan for the events until Ash Wednesday is “To the East: The Incredible Journey of Marco Polo”. Visitors are expected to come from all over the world, and many of these visitors will again dress in colorful costumes and wear Venetian masks.

Costumes of other times

The history of the Venice Carnival dates back to the Middle Ages. The tradition was temporarily forgotten, but was later revived. This includes numerous evening masquerades, as well as many open-air festivals.

Just like our own carnival, the Venice Carnival is celebrated over several days – just with a little more style. While in this country we like to show off in simpler costumes, in Venice we prefer noble and ostentatious clothes from earlier periods such as the Renaissance or Baroque. During this time, Venice literally turns into a fashion show; Everyone wants to present their carefully created costume.

World-famous masks, also known as Bauta, are also an integral part of the Venice Carnival. In ancient Venice, these were worn on holidays, combined with a black cloak and hat. Wearing masks was briefly banned in the 14th century because it provided anonymity that encouraged fraud and theft.

The Venetian carnival changed many times over time and was even rejected by Napoleon as illegal. Today only masks remind us of the carnival of that period.

full program

On Sunday, February 4, 2024, ten days before Ash Wednesday, the traditional “Volo dell’Angelo”, or “flight of the angels”, will take place over St. Mark’s Square. Colorful balloons rise into the sky for live music, confetti rains down and Angelo floats from St. Mark’s Tower towards the Doge’s Palace.

• Venice Festival on the Cannaregio Canal on Saturday evening
• Water parade on the Grand Canal on Sunday morning
• Grand stages in Piazza San Marco and Piazza Ferretto
• Procession of the Virgin Mary and the Bull
• The flight of the angel, the flight of the eagle and the flight of the lion
• Ceremonial processions in Lido, Marghera, Campalto, Zelarino, Pellestrina and Burano

Carnival as a tourist

Anyone traveling to Venice as a tourist for the Carnival simply needs to dress up for the various evening events, such as the Ball of Dreams. You can get a Dream Ticket, which includes entrance, dinner, shows and an ensuing party, for the equivalent of around 450 francs – expensive entertainment.

For tourists who do not want to spend too much money to get into the carnival spirit, traditional masks can be purchased from every corner of the city.

Source : Blick