Carnival of Venice (Carnevale di Venezia – Carnival of Venice), history 13. It is a collection of celebrations that date back to the century and became famous around the world with its masks.. During the Carnival, people dress up in colorful costumes, wear Venice masks, and stroll through the streets of Venice, an already beautiful city, creating spectacular images.
The carnival period, which falls between January-February-March, is one of the most crowded periods in Venice, which is always full of tourists, even the most crowded.. Therefore, if you want to visit the city during the carnival, it is useful to plan your entire trip early, especially accommodation.. VENICE TRAVEL GUIDE writing for accommodation, transportation, travel budget and all the information you want to know about Venice; You can review the article VENICE TO VISIT for must-see places and the ISLANDS AROUND VENICE to learn about the beautiful islands around.
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HOW TO CREATE THE VENICE CARNIVAL OUTPUT
Even though it is not known exactly how the Venice Carnival started and how it came to be traditionally until today, the strongest guess is as follows:
During the plague epidemic that ravaged the city in 1348 and killed half of Venice’s population, the survivors began to wear masks by wearing long clothes to hide their condition and wounds.. Over time, the masks became colorful and shaped and became a symbol that integrates with the people, so these colorful masks began to be called Venetian masks.. Besides the colorful and flamboyant masks, there are ugly masks with long noses that are more faithful to this story, and they are also called plague masks.. The common feature of all these masks is that despite the centuries that have passed, the symbolized sadness and dull expression have never disappeared.
There are also those who say that such a tradition was started to remove the image and class differences between the rich and the poor and show the equality of people.
WHAT IS THE VENICE CARNIVAL – DATES
It is said that the Venice Carnival started as a week first and was extended towards the beginning by the people of the surrounding area, who were positively affected by the increasing activity of the city, over time, it may be true.. That’s why the current carnival calendar is about three weeks. Let’s skip the first week as it is forcibly extended, if you are going, choose one of the last two weeks.. This period starts on Saturday and ends on the next Tuesday (11 days in total).
I just said that it is stretched to the head; because the actual day of the carnival is its ending Tuesday, and this ending Tuesday, which changes according to the religious calendar, is certain every year (people cannot change it). The official dates of the Venice Carnival for the coming years are as follows:
February 15 – February 25, 2020
February 6 – February 16, 2021
February 19 – March 1, 2022
February 11 – February 21, 2023
February 3 – February 13, 2024
So why does such a big carnival end on a strange day like Tuesday that is not the beginning-mid-end of the week? To understand this, we need some basic information about Christianity.
So; Christians fast for 40 days before Easter, which they call Lent, which means not eating animal foods (such as butter, meat, eggs, fish).. This fast begins on Wednesday every year and is known as Ash Wednesday.. Because; Easter holiday, Hz.. The first day of the 40-day fast should be Wednesday, since it begins on Monday, the day of Jesus’ resurrection (Easter Monday).
The Tuesday, the day before the Wednesday when Lent begins, should be celebrated as it is the last day before fasting begins; And this is Tuesday, the last day of our Venice Carnival. known. On this day, celebrations called Mardi Gras carnival are held in many parts of the world.. Depending on the date of Easter, Repentance Tuesday can fall between February 2 and March 9. Mardi Gras is a French word and it means Oily Tuesday, it’s a name that pretty well sums up being a day with lots of food
If you go in costume like me, you may encounter intense interest from tourists
WHAT TO DO IN VENICE CARNIVAL?
In the simplest sense, all you have to do is put on your mask and take a tour around the city and watch your surroundings That’s exactly what I did when I first went in 2009, and I took pictures of my favorite costumes like other tourists or next to them. I went and filmed together. On my second visit in 2015, I started to have clothes made long ago, thinking why I shouldn’t be one of those costumed people.. I can say that it is definitely different from walking around with only a mask; The interest of the tourists and the desire to take pictures continued at all times and I could not even move for hours because of those who wanted to stop and take pictures.. I always wondered what it would be like to be famous and walk on the street, I’ve had that feeling
While strolling around the Grand Canal in my costume..
Events, shows, competitions are held in St. Mark’s Square during the carnival. As soon as you arrive in the city, find a brochure with the carnival program, it was everywhere at the airport when I went.
The Best Mask Contest (La Maschera) held twice a day Piu Bella – Best Mask Contest) is one of the interesting shows, you can watch it. On the stage set up in the square, the contestants in interesting costumes and masks try to make themselves appreciated by walking.
The events of the carnival, which are considered very important and watched by all people, consist of three “flights”. I recommend you to witness these moments by planning your travel date to include one of them.. These flights are as follows:
Angel’s Flight show is one of the most important moments of the carnival.
Angel’s Flight (Il Volo dell’Angelo – Flight of an Angel): Flying an “angel” down with a rope stretched from the Bell Tower, the tallest structure in the city, to the stage in the square. This event takes place on the first Sunday of the carnival (check the event calendar) and is watched by around 70,000 people each year (more than Venice’s resident population). The angel that will fly down was chosen from the most beautiful girls of the previous year.
The one who started this tradition was a warrior Turkish acrobat.. He walked with a rope stretched from the Bell Tower to the Palace of the Dukes, without any protective material, and showed himself to the Duke of Venice.. That’s why the name of the show was Turk’s Flight before.
I watched it, actually it’s not such a great show.. It can only be experienced to be in that crowd and share their excitement.
Your eagle Flight (Il Volo dell’Aquila – Flight of the Eagle): An incipient tradition very similar to the angel’s flight. It takes place on the second Sunday of the carnival (check the event calendar).
The Lion Flight (Svolo del Leon – The Lion Flight): Venice’ I mentioned in my Venice Travel Guide article that the lion statue, the symbol of the city, is on top of the San Marco column, which gives its name to one of the two patron saints columns in St. Mark’s Square.. In this show, which took place on Tuesday, the last and main day of the carnival, the flag with the lion figure, which is considered the symbol of the city, is lowered (flying) from the top of the Bell Tower to the crowd in the square with a ceremony with music and confetti, as in other shows.. On the stage of the Grand Theater (Gran Teatro), where she will land, angels (women) called Maria welcome her.. After this show, the carnival is closed.
After talking about the daytime events, we also talked about what to do in the evening. let’s see. In the evenings, there are parties and balls in many places and you can enter them with masks and costumes.. I did not go because the entrance fees are high, but for those who are interested, the carnival website and booklet provide information about these parties.
Other alternative classical music concerts. I think it is worth listening to the concerts held in churches or concert halls, especially Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.. Since Vivaldi is Venetian and Four Seasons is one of the most popular classical music pieces, you can often see signs on your way to these concerts.
The best event I also attended was the fireworks displays at Arsenale. Shows at the Arsenale, known as the Venice Shipyard, are held at 19:30 and 21:30 on the two weekends included in the carnival (check the current schedule again). I think the harmony of fireworks, lights and fires with the music was amazing, they did a good choreography You can find a video I shot during the show at the bottom of the article.
After the outdoor movie show and fireworks shows are over then they directed us to the hall where there was a dance show and lastly the night continued with a DJ party in this hall.. Therefore, if your trip includes a weekend, it is a must to stop by Arsenale one evening.
The event space can be hard to find as the redirects are poor (or even nonexistent), it’s a bit off center. We had a hard time and we saw hundreds of people disappearing like us, maybe there is an easy way, I don’t know.. If you go by Vaporetto, the nearest stop is Baccini.. Then you try to find it by asking with words like Arsenale, fireworks, party.. Returning is easy after arriving, and it was great that they put in additional flights that provide transportation to the center during the event.
As the most classical alternative, only the eyes closed you can get fancy masks.
WHAT TO WEAR AT VENICE CARNIVAL?
I mentioned above, it will be the easiest method for you to buy and wear the Venetian masks sold all over the city.. Prices start from 3 euros and go up to 25 euros.. You can get the most common model, feathered masks for women and long-nosed plague masks for men, for 5 – 10 Euros.
For those who want to be a part of the carnival by exaggerating like me. They can engage in costume sewing or, which is a relatively simple method, costume rental.. It would be better to arrange these while you are in Turkey, as it will be very expensive in Venice and you will not want to waste your limited time finding a dressmaker.
Order the mask online or sell party supplies. possible to find anywhere. Istanbul friends who want to try and try will find what they are looking for around Sirkeci – Eminönü – Tahtakale (If you can’t find it as a Venice mask, ask for a Gezi mask ). To rent a costume, you can search the internet with words such as Venetian costume, baroque costume.. Or you can go to the dressmakers again; There are many dressmakers in Taksim – Çukurcuma.
The little girl’s costume is a good example of Baroque models
Those crinoline costumes for women are called baroque costumes. Don’t forget the long gloves that complete your costume, I think they look very cool. Men, on the other hand, may not find what they are looking for when written like this; Also search for musician costume. You need; I can summarize it as an embroidered long caftan and the same embroidered vest, decorated scarf and white/black gloves.
In addition to the mask on the face area; It is possible to complete the costume with a period wig or a huge extravagant hat.. I think the most important thing is to choose a flashy hat as much as possible.. You can make your own hat by taking a flat hat and gluing all kinds of things you can think of, such as feathers, otaches, miniature masks, dolls and even mice (for the plague). The address for these accessories is again Tahtakale.. Sorry, I can’t provide address information for friends outside of Istanbul
You can make your costume more attractive with big and exaggerated hats.
The most classic preferences are like this. If you want to have my costume but be different; You can also try a different style such as witch, wizard, Indian, robot man, cartoon character.. If you’re going with a crowd, you can choose a group concept like the seven dwarfs or the smurfs; I’m sure you’ll be the most popular when you travel together
I wanted to wear a costume that was as tacky and full of accessories as possible, instead of being a noble baroque woman, and I had the tailor (thanks) who I sewed. Mr. Hayri ) I directed this way. I made the right choice because it attracted a lot of attention, and I think I’m pretty worn out as you can see in the pictures
Don’t forget to ride the gondola with your costume!
Costume rental is certainly not cheap.. Prices may range between 200 – 500 TL for women and 150 – 300 TL for men.. Even if you want to have it sewn privately like me, you may need to open the mouth of the bag a little more.
When choosing your clothes, you should keep in mind that it will be very cold and you will be outside for hours with your costume.. I wore thermal underwear and even a thin coat, and because the skirt is already fluffy, I have jeans and snow boots on the bottom
If you’re lucky, it won’t rain while you’re there; but the weather will be cold anyway and probably around 2-3 degrees.
Have fun!
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