Exploring the magic of Venice’s Carnival: traditions and celebrations

The Origins

The Carnival of Venice, one of the most fascinating and historic celebrations in the world, has its roots in the distant year of 1094, during the dogate of Vitale Falier. It was under his leadership that the Carnival was first mentioned in an official document, marking the beginning of a centuries-old tradition that continues to this day.

This festival, preceding Lent, was born as an occasion to alleviate social tensions and improve the morale of the population, offering a liberating moment of leisure and freedom.

Today, the Carnival of Venice continues to enchant visitors from all over the world with its elaborate masks, sumptuous costumes, and parades along the Grand Canal, keeping alive the spirit and history of the Serenissima Republic. Recognized worldwide as the Venetian festival par excellence, the Carnival originally lasted six weeks, from December 26th to Shrove Tuesday.

It was a period entirely dedicated to fun and festivities, during which Venetians and outsiders alike poured into the calli of Venice to celebrate with music and dancing.

he anonymity provided by masks and costumes allowed for the reversal of social roles: everyone became an active part of a grand stage of life that, for just a few weeks each year, permitted a collective catharsis.

Since costume-wearing grew so popular with time, Venice also became a hub for costume-making and mask-making.

One of the most common masks in the days of yore, though still used presently by men and women alike, is the Bauta (buh-OO-tah): a white mask with a prominent chin piece, usually accompanied by a cocked hat and the typical Venetian tabarro, a dark-coloured buttonless mantle.

The traditionally women’s mask is the Moretta, a small mask of dark velour, often paired with delicate headgear and veil. The Moretta may be called a silent mask, for it is worn by biting a button sewn on its inner face, thus impeding speech.

During Carnival, shows and performances took places all over Venice: jugglers, acrobats, musicians, dancers filled up public areas, while peddlers sold any kind of goods, from spices to fabrics.

In the noble palaces, sumptuous masked balls would be thrown.

In the 1700s, the Carnival of Venice reached its peak: it became known all over Europe as the prime destination for fun and celebration.

Giacomo Casanova is certainly one of the best known Carnival characters: seducer par excellence, the life of the party, and the protagonist of adventure and scandal.

In 1797, with the collapse of the Republic of Venice and foreign occupation – French first, Austrian later – the long-standing tradition of the Carnival of Venice ended for fear of the population growing restless and uprising.

The tradition officially resumed two centuries later, in 1979, and ever since, the Carnival of Venice has been a grand, spectacular event that attracts visitors from all over the world, gathering in Venice to participate in a unique celebration for its history, atmosphere, and masks.

The modern Carnival lasts just over a couple weeks, with a rich programme of events for all ages.

The Angel’s Flight

The Carnival of Venice sets off with the traditional Angel’s Flight: a masked performer flies off of the belltower in Piazza San Marco, commemorating a tightrope walker who, in the 1500s, walked from the same belltower to a boat moored by the Piazzetta.

Professional acrobats produce what came to be the official ceremony that starts off the Carnival. In 1759, the acrobat tragically died, and the performances didn’t take place for several years.

It was then reinitiated using a cut-out of a dove.

Today, it is again done by a human performer wearing a safety harness.

It is still a very exciting performance.

The Festa delle Marie

The Festa delle Marie is another tradition of Carnival, today as it was yesterday. It dates back to the eleventh century.

Twelve beautiful Venetian girls of humble background were chosen so that Venetian noblemen could provide them with dowry, and help them set up home.

The Marys will then parade around the city. The tradition was then abandoned for a long time, and reinstated only centuries later, with a few changes: the twelve girls are chosen among local beauties, and parade in vintage gear around Venice.

Once in Piazza San Marco, the most beautiful is elected.

Parties abound: today as in past,  Venetian palazzos, so rich in atmosphere, are the perfect setting for lavish celebrations.

The most famous is the Ballo del Doge, an international event with hundreds of participants and the re-enactment of an eighteenth-century masked ball.

The Carnival at Caffè Florian

The Florian is the essence of Carnival: an ideal set, authentic to the last detail, where the fiction of masking gets a life of its own.

The Caffè is, once again, the image of Venice in Triumph, where a thousand languages tell the story of a unique stage where amazement and wonder know no limits.

To live the experience of the Carnival of Venice at Florian, itself a piece of history more then three hundred years old, means being a protagonist of a celebration of fun and decadence.

A place of delight where you can taste every bit of licentious happiness.