venice carnival

Undoubtedly the lagoon town Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. Located in the Northeast of the Apennine Peninsula, is not only a popular travel destination at the Adriatic Coast, but also the capital of the Veneto region and of the province of Venice.

Venice is situated in the centre of a salt water lagoon which is located between the mouth of the Po River and the Piave River and linked to the Thyrrenian Sea. The City of Venice covers a total of
118 small islands connected by over 400 bridges and 160 canals. The lagoon is approximately 50 km long and 15 km wide.

It is the many cultural and historical peculiarities that make Venice so popular. One of the most important traditions is the world-famous Carnival in Venice which is not only visited and
celebrated by its inhabitants but also attracts more and more tourists each year.

The origins of the Venetian Carnival can be traced back to the 12th century when the Doge´s government gave the Venetian people permission to wear masks and costumes. It is considered
to be an ancient Medieval tradition to celebrate the beginning of the Lent season.

The carnival activities started on the 26th of December (St. Stephen´s Day or "Shrove Thursday") and lasted until Tuesday ("Martedi Grasso" or "Mardi Gras") before Ash Wednesday ("Lent Wednesday"). During this time the normal people took possession of the public places and the Venetian palaces. The great squares such as the Piazza San Marco were turned into stages for performances by actors, artists, acrobats and musicians and for processions where masqueraders competed with one another for the most eccentric costumes. Masqueraders portrayed counts
and countesses and took on the identity of a variety of fantasy characters. Carnival processions moved slowly through the narrow streets of Venice and across the bridges. Visitors and
aristocrats also rode through the canals in decorated gondolas.

Characters from the Commedia dell´Arte, the famous 16th and 17th century Italian theater, also served as inspirations for many of the historic costumes which ranged from historic characters
and merchants to aristocrats and church characters. The most famous masquerades still worn
today are the "Arlecchino" ("Harlequin") with its costume decorated with brightly colored
triangles and the "Dottore delle Peste" ("The Doctor of the Plague") with its white mask with
a long beak and spectacles.

Besides amusement and entertainment, role reversing and the blurring of social status during carnival also offered a welcome opportunity for the normal people to escape temporarily from
the Doge´s government´s authority and therefore had an important social function, too.