Carnival Venice Travel Italy Guide

Carnevale di Venizia is a classic masked carnival which has been a Venice tradition (with the exception of the years under Mussolini) since the twelfth century. Taking place just before Lent, Carnival means "Goodbye meat" and is a traditional party in which Catholics use up all of their meat and eggs before the period of Lent, in which meat is forbidden. Of course, like many Catholic holidays, Carnival pulls some of its rituals from early Pagan celebrations like the Roman Saturnalia and Lupercalia which were celebrations of lust and leisure.

The Venice carnival is marked by the wearing of masks. Early carnival revelers donned masks in order to disguise their identities and, most importantly, their class. So it was that carnivale became a celebration for all strata of society. Today, artisan masks make up a large cottage industry in Venice and beautiful and creative masks can be purchased online or on the streets. The most famous carnival mask is the white, long-beaked mask of the "Plague Doctor"; probably the most frequently used carnival image. This mask is based on an actual mask worn by doctors during the Plague. The mask was originally outfitted with a vinegar soaked rag around the nose which could supposedly filter out deadly germs.

What Italian party would be complete without food? The heart of Venice's carnival lies in the Piazza San Marco where, in the thirteenth century, pigs were slaughtered on Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday); a plaza adjacent to Venice's famous San Marco Cathedral. Many private balls take place during this time, in which the rich and famous masquerade as normal Venetians in hotel ballrooms and mansions, but the main events take place in the plaza. The traditional food of carnival is not meat but delicious Italian pastries; the anise-flavored Gallani and the deep-fried, sugar-coated fritelle.

In 2007, Venice's Carnival will take place from February 9-20. Re-instated in 1979 after being banned for years under Mussolini, Venice has come back with a vengeance to re-claim its title of one of the world's most pleasure-seeking cities of sin. Just as it was in the eighteenth century, Venice is once again the place to be for carnival. Sinner from around the world travel to Venice each year to partake in the eating, drinking and liberated sexual activity that once made Venice famous. Carnevale di Venizia, officially lasting only 11 days but with festivities stretching out over several months, is the party of a lifetime.