Do you think that it’s too hard to get to Brazil to participate in the annual carnival? Then consider this. There is another carnival which not that crowded and you won’t be ashamed to get there together with your teenage kids- Venice Carnevale.
Here you’ll find a long list of various people wearing extraordinary and interesting masks and a lot of entertainments which will keep you up until the morning.
Carnevale, which is also known as Mardi gras, is celebrated in Italy and many places around the world 40 days before Easter. It might be simply called a sequel to the Brazilian celebration.
How is Carnival Organized?
Despite the fact that the Carnevale is being celebrated in Italy during the winter time this doesn’t mean that the winter festival is somehow more boring or less interesting. The celebration includes parades, masquerade balls, music, dancing and parties.
As to the children then they will definitely enjoy throwing home made confetti at each other.
Carnevale has a pagan basis but as usually it got adapted to the Catholic traditions and now no one can argue the true Catholic meaning of the festival. The most common place for the celebration of the festival is Venice where the presentation is taking place a single day while in the other places the celebration might start up to few weeks earlier.
The most outstanding part of the Carnevale is that everyone supposes to wear a maschere, typical carnevale masks and Venice is considered to be the best place to purchase some of them. If you are thinking that the only time that you can get such a mask you’re mistaken.
They are being sold year round and their prices vary from simply cheap ones up to rather exclusive and expensive models which are one of a kind. There are so many of them that while walking down the Venice streets you can enjoy them in the displays of the stores.
One cannot wear a mask without wearing a special costume. This is a must especially for the masquerade balls. Some people also organize private parties which are not accessible for a wide range of the public.
Dates of celebration
This year the Carnevale will be held on February 16 but celebrations in some parts of Italy will start from February 6 throughout February 16.
The all country celebrations are just amazing, but Venice, Viareggio, and Cento are the ones to hold the biggest carnival festivals ever. Some of the other towns have unusual ways of celebrating this winter fest.
Carnevale in Venice
The actual beginning of the Carnival celebration is taking place at least 2 weeks earlier than the day of the big celebration. The joy of the upcoming festival is being spread throughout the whole city of Venice. At this time you can find a lot of people wondering in the streets dressed up as a masquerade visitors.
The most interesting things to participate are:
• Gondola and boat parades along the Grand Canal
• Mask parades in St. Mark’s Square
• Carnival for Children in the Cannaregio district.
• Grand fireworks show on the final day to end the carnival celebration.
Viareggio Carnevale
Viareggio as mentioned above has one of the biggest celebrations of the Italian Carnival. Vaireggio Carival is popular for its massive, symbolic paper maché floats used in parades not only on Shrove Tuesday but also the three Sundays before and the Sunday following the day. Admission is charged to view the parades as this is considered to be one of the best ways of entertaining the guests. Festivals, cultural events, concerts, and masked balls take place throughout the carnival season both in Viareggio and nearby towns. The fest time is also influencing the restaurants- which are offering special carnival menus.
Orange Throwing Carnevale
The town of Ivrea, located in the Piedmont region, has a unique carnival celebration with medieval roots. The carnival includes a colorful parade as in the rest of the country. The only exception is that it is followed by orange-throwing battles in the center of town. The farm carts are being carried to the town a month prior to the Carnevale. The orange battles usually take place on Sunday through the Tuesday of Carnevale. The concluding event of the fest is the burning of the scarli (big poles, erected in the middle of each district’s square, covered with dry bushes) on the evening of February 16 to end the carnival season.
Equestrian Carnival
The small town located in the heart of the popular island- Oristano celebrates Carnevale with a costumed parade, horse races, and a re-enactment of a medieval jousting tournament in a festival called La Sartigilia.
Roman Carnevale in Pont St. Martin
If you see traditional Roman nymphs and people dressed in togas then there is no doubt that you are in Pont St. Martin in the Val d’Aosta –a northwestern region of Italy. This place also saved some of the older traditions such as burning the devil and so on.
Brazilian Carnival in Italy
No, this is not a joke, but something to be watched. In some parts of the Italy people organize a Brazilian type carnival where you can participate in dancing contests and fill the rhythm of the Brazilian musicians and get involved in popular samba.
The best thing about is that the masks and the costumes of this kind of carnival fests are rather attractive especially for the male.
Alps Fest
Livigno which is right in the board of the Switzerland has a bit different celebration of the Carnival with a procession of downhill skiers, followed by an obstacle race, fancy dress ball, and traditional parade in the streets.
Albanian Carnival
This Italian region is famous for its Albanian settlements. No surprise that the traditional Italian costumes here are being replaced with Albanian ones. Here the main trends of the celebration are the men dressed in women clothes and the wine which is always filling the cups of the visitors and the locals.
Southern Italian Celebration
Here the celebration of various carnivals is almost year round. The best place to witness the festival is the island of Sicily. Here everything is more of a local style and everybody seems to be so mysterious especially if thinking about the mafia origin of the population.
Sardinia Carnevale in Barbagia Mountain Villages
The island of Sardinia which is just another popular island following the sample of Sicily is steeped in tradition and that’s especially true in the Barbagia villages outside Nuoro. Tradition is powerfully reflected in their unique carenvale festivals, influenced by ancient cults and rites.
thats sooooo cool i have that JKS