Carnival of Venice
The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival ends with the Christian celebration of Lent, forty days before Easter, on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. The festival is world famous for its elaborate masks.
Thousands of tourists come to Venice to see and take part in its magnificent Carnival; walking round in fancy dress in this city's magical scenery means taking part in a truly exceptional happening. Those mysterious, disturbing Venetian masks, eyeing you from the city's alleyways are part of what we imagine the Venetian world would have been like 300 years ago. They are an irresistible attraction for what is undoubtedly one of the world's most unique experiences: the re-living of 18th century Venice.
Wearing masks has always been more than just simple fun for the Venetians; it is still a strongly felt tradition with deep cultural roots.
The Carnival itself, meant letting-go and abandoning oneself to play; freedom, transgression and good-willed madness. Palaces opened their courtyards to celebrations and there was music and dancing all day and all night in the alleyways, small squares and even on the water. Venice was alive with sound and colour.
No comments:
Post a Comment