Venice Carnival

Venice Carnival (Carnevale di Venezia) is an annual festival held in Venice in February. The carnival begins about two weeks before the Ash Wednesday (in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church – the day of the beginning of Lent, celebrated 45 calendar days before Easter; in Orthodoxy it corresponds to a clean Monday) and ends on Fat Tuesday (a carnival holiday is celebrated in the Catholic world on the eve of Ash Wednesday).The 18th century was the era of the highest prosperity in the history of the Venetian carnival in history. The irrepressible spirit of flirting and betrayal, a feeling of complete freedom and the expectation of exciting adventures attracted an aristocracy from all over Europe to this masquerade. The fame and popularity of the carnival was so high that even high-ranking persons did not consider it incapable of incognito to take part in unlimited fun. Continue reading →