The first thing we remember is how cold it was. Minus something. And how crowded. But it was great. We visited Venice a number of times, but this carnival was a first for both of us and we didn't want to miss anything.
At the beginning, it was somewhat difficult to understand what to do and where to go. This is because the Venice carnival is not a structured event with one well defined location to be at any given time. It is a party with no barriers or borders, held in one of the most sumptuous and famous historic city in the world.
There are numerous events held at the same time in different places around the city, and one has to choose which one to attend or watch. Most of these are open to everyone, depending on the case, with or without costumes. Some are free, some are quite expensive.
Of course, some events do require to be costumed, and this can also be an expensive proposition as a one day rental of a decent costume can cost several
hundreds euros.
There are parades, lots of parades -- masked and costumed parades. There are dinners, lots of dinners, all kind of dinners, gala dinners, charity dinners, dinners dansante. There are chocolate parties in costume on Saint Marco plaza -- the one at the Gran Caffee Quadri was impressive. Concerts -- we enjoyed a Vivaldi (of course) concert in a church. Theater plays. Balls, lots
of incredible and extravagant balls -- mascheranda
(Mask Ball)
in historical Palazzo -- these must be reserved and can be quite costly (euros 400-600 for the ball, plus the location of a costume!)"Hot chocolate" with cakes and sweets in an elegant café in the "Piazza", the Venetian Carnival time tradition since 18th Century. Dress Code: costume.
Lots of stuff for children also, all around. And always, everywhere, costumed people, ready and willing to be photographed. No more identity. Just a mask. A costume. Some traditional 18th century Venetian. Many others. It's free for all -- everyone does as she or he pleases. Everything is accepted, looked at, and photographed. It's great.
The Venice carnival used to be a magical time for everyone and involved the whole city. It still is, with the addition of the tourists. It used to be a time when all the rules of society and State were broken, and gave the average man the chance to lose himself in festivity. This also is still true today.
It is an intense period for the participants,Venetians and tourists, as they wear their masks and their fanciful costumes, and are being photographed. We can see costumed people everywhere, along the waterways, seated at terrasses, walking along, always posing for photographers. Personal identity, sex and social class are no more; all that mattered is taking part
in the great illusion of the Carnival.
I've read that this is the world's oldest carnival in the world's most beautiful city. Venice has been the place for such festivities for over 200 years!
This was a first for us and we certainly had a great time. Still, we most probably missed a lot of things. We didn't attend any mascheranda (Mask Ball) because we didn't know (and considering the cost, weren't sure which one to go to.)
We both hope to return to the Carnevale de Venezia, this time with Julien.
Click here to see more pictures (this is a slide show and requires the installation of a small utility)
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