The Carnival of Venice is one of the most important and evocative in the world. Every year the traditions of the past are revisited in a modern key that allow the many visitors who come for the occasion from all over the world to experience a magical atmosphere.
The 2024 edition celebrates one of the greatest Venetian travellers: Marco Polo. The event has a long history that today lives thanks to the many events, shows and events organized to celebrate the Carnival.
Venice during the carnival
The Carnival of Venice is one of the events dedicated to this festival among the most important in Italy. Every year during the city it is transformed for a whole week into a great masked ball. The streets of the city in this period are full of people masked with sumptuous clothes.
This cultural event attracts every year thousands of tourists from all over the world who flock to the alleys of Venice participating in a great party. Each year a specific theme is chosen for the Venice Carnival. The title chosen for the 2024 edition is: “To the East. Marco Polo’s amazing journey”.
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The history of the Venice Carnival
The famous Carnival of Venice has a history of over 900 years. In the past, unlike today, the Venice Carnival took place over six weeks. The celebration began on the first Sunday of October and then intensified in the period of Epiphany and entered the heart in the days before Lent.
The golden period of the Venetian Carnival was the eighteenth century, when it was held from 26 December until Shrove Tuesday. All activities and business of Venetian citizens are put in the background during the Carnival. Most of the time was devoted to the festivities and shows that were held throughout the city.
In this period the Carnival of Venice became famous throughout Europe. Following the fall of the Serenissima these demonstrations suffered a long period of decline. The last edition of the Carnival of Venice dates back to 1797. The first parties with masked parades were organized again in 1967 but it was only in 1979 that a program was created to involve all Venetian citizens in the celebrations.
After almost two centuries the celebrations return to the fascinating traditions that had made the festival famous throughout Europe. Today the Venetian Carnival has a duration of 11 days from the Saturday before Shrove Thursday until Shrove Tuesday. Among the traditional events that are presented in a modern key the most famous are the Festa delle Marie and the Flight of the Angel.
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Venice Carnival 2024, the tribute to Marco Polo
Every year a specific theme is chosen for the Carnival of Venice that acts as a guide to all the events and events that take place in this period in the city. The 2024 edition will be dedicated to one of the most illustrious personalities of the city, to remember the seven hundred years since the death of the greatest explorer of all time.
His journey will be the map that will be followed by the events and performances of the Carnival that this year will take place from 27 January to 13 February. Spectators will be transported through a fantastic journey through the streets and fields that for the occasion will be animated by music, art and shows. In the 2024 edition, the theme of travel, discovery and encounter with worlds that were previously only imagined will be developed.
But not only that, in fact, the theme also concerns the journey understood as self-discovery that allows you to discover yourself different from how you started. On this occasion we will look eastward on the traces left by the young Marco Polo in his journey to discover new wonders.
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Carnival of Venice 2024, the main events
During the days dedicated to the Carnival of Venice there are many events in the historic center and in the most peripheral areas. For example, in Mestre there are many shows with street actors, acrobats and musicians who will animate Piazza Ferretto. But not only that, also in the lagoon are organized events related to the Carnival of Venice such as, for example, the Carnival of Burano.
Private parties and dances will take place on Shrove Thursday, Shrove Saturday and the previous Saturday. One of the most anticipated events is the traditional contest of the most beautiful mask that this year will take place in two twin theatres in Eastern style that will be set up in Piazza San Marco and Piazza del Ferretto in Mestre.
Another unmissable event is the Festa delle Marie. On Sunday, January 28, the 12 Marie are chosen to accompany the Carnival and the most beautiful girl who will be the face of the Venice Carnival 2024. In the most evocative places of the city will be set up stages on which will perform artists of the best companies on the international scene.
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