Arts and Trades are the protagonists of the Venice Carnival 2016, titled this year “CREATUM: an idea for a new start, a rebirth of Venice’s ancient origins.”

Heart of Venice Carnival 2016 will be St.Mark’s Square, where mask makers, weavers, tailors and glass-makers will relive in their 18th century Venetian workshops. From January the 30 to February the 9th the square will be transformed into a great crafts’ laboratory. An extraordinary village, the Creatum, designed by Massimo Checchetto scenografo of Teatro La Fenice, will become a stage where Venice will show her skills in gondolas and oars’ construction, masks and customs’ production, all accompanied by music and acting made by Gran Teatro La Fenice and Teatro Stabile del Veneto. All activities will be amplified on a big screen set up in the Square.

A bridge for a stage and a Ferris wheel for the Angel’s arrival will complete the set of a fairy-tale, where much-awaited traditional engagements come to life: the Festa delle Marie, historical parade of the 12 girls in magnificent Renaissance costumes; Sunday 31st January, the Flight of the Angel from St. Mark’s Bell tower, performed by Irene Rizzi, (2015 “Maria” Carnival winner).

Together with the mainland, where the Carnival will spread, and celebrations become a showcase exhibiting long traditions of Venetian life, even Calli and Campi in Venice will become places for musical and theatrical events.

These events will be backed up by evening and nocturnal events at the Arsenale, like the open-air urban costume performances, the sumptuous King’s Banquet (“Banchetto del Re”) – the official Carnival “gala dinner”, together with “The Club” and the Dance Machine where guests will be taken back to times echoing the pomp and splendour of the Venetian Republic, the centre of civilization.

The Big Opening of Venice Carnival: an extraordinary floating show, the exhibition of a pianist and his piano suspended in the air and the traditional “Festa Veneziana”

Venice Carnival 2015, presented in Palazzo Labia, reveals a rich and tasty programme reflecting the main theme of Expo Milano 2015: food.

31st January 6.00pm to 6.30pm: “The Magic Banquet” – water show in Sestiere Cannaregio (a district of Venice)

The 2015 Venice Carnival will be officially opened with a magnificent floating show along the Rio of Cannaregio, “The Magic Banquet”. The show has been conceived by Nu’art and is directed by Gabriele Rizzi. “The Magic Banquet” combines the best international performances with suggestive scenic design, following the tasty theme of food. The event is divided into two parts (one taking place at 6pm and the other at 8pm) but any chapter represents a celebration to the powers of flavour. Coffee cups and strawberries will be some of the elements of a floating world, telling in an ironic and astonishing way the flavours of a menu typically Made in Italy. The show will reach the peak with 4 hot-air balloons and 4 floating structures, just before the grand final, when a big hot-air balloon representing Venice will burst on the scene.

February 1st, from 11am: the traditional “Festa Veneziana” on the water, water parades and the world changing piano.

On February 1st, the typical feast continues in Cannaregio with the floating “Festa Veneziana”, combining the rowing culture and the pleasure of local cuisine. At 11pm a rowing water parade will start from Punta della Dogana, going along with a pianist who will literally fly with them on the Grand Canal. Actually, Venice Carnival Opening will be the chance to present for the first time the great performance “The world changing piano” in which the pianist Paolo Zanarella will play his piano six metres above the water. When the boats will arrive in Rio Canareggio, the “Festa Veneziana” will start with the opening of the wine and food stalls, offering everyone more than 20.000 wine tasting and Venetian specialities for free: from Pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) to bigoli in salsa, from baccalà to sarde in saor and, to not forget, the delicious carnival cakes: frittelle e galani.

All the events are free for everyone

Flight of the Angel: An unmissable event of the Carnival of Venice 2014

Volo dell’ Angelo or “Flight of the Angel” as it is popularly known, is a traditional event that happens in the Carnival of Venice, one of the most oldest and colourful festivals in Italy. Considered to be the highlight of the Carnival of Venice, ‘Flight of the Angel’ attracts tens of thousands of visitors from across the world every year.

History of the event

During the mid 16th century, a Turkish acrobat walked on a rope from a boat tied in Riva degli Schiavoni, a waterfront promenade at Castello, to the top of St.Mark Bell Tower, one of the most popular landmark attractions in Venice. From the tower, he then continued his feat to the Doge’s Palace Balcony as a honour to the Doge, who was then in charge of the city. This marked the beginning of what is today the most famous event of the Carnival of Venice. The event, then known as the “Flight of the Turk” was performed only by professional acrobats. However, over the years, even common people came forward to showcase their ability and bravery.

Once an acrobat, clad in angel wings, flew along a rope from the bell tower to the palace square. The flight was so impressive that the doge himself presented a gift to the acrobat who did this stupendous feat. From then onwards, the event was renamed as the “Flight of the Angel“. But the name didn’t last for long. In 1759, an acrobat angel accidentally fell over the crowd during the flight. After this shocking incident, instead of humans, wooden doves were used in the event. Hence it was known as the “Flight of the Dove“. For centuries, this ritual continued with wooden doves. Again in 2001, wooden doves were replaced by humans, bringing back the old ritual of the flight of the angel paying homage to the doge with renewed gusto and vigour.

Carnival of Venice, 2014 Edition

This year, Julia Nasi, the winner of the previous edition of the Marie Contest, will be the Angel of the flight in the Carnival of Venice. It would be a breathtaking sight to watch the flight of the angel flying from atop the tower against the strong wind blowing from the sea. There will also be parades and historical reenactments, adding more excitement and revelry to the flight. The flight of the angel concludes with the Angel and the Doge embracing each other, marking the beginning of the festivities of the Carnival of the Venice.

The Venice Arsenale comes to life during the 2014 Venice Carnival

The 2014 Venice Carnival has many new treats in store for us. In addition to exceptional visuals curated by the renowned Disney cartoonist Giorgio Cavazzano, the star of this year’s Carnival will be one of Venice‘s landmarks: the Arsenale. The “Serenissima’s” historic dockyard will be presented with a new theatrical backdrop, which will be created in collaboration with Teatro la Fenice, and will be ready to greet the Carnival masks every night of the festival week.

THE SHOW ON THE DOCK

For six nights during the 2014 Venice Carnival, playful lights and fountains, music and roving entertainment will be introduced by a show directed by Davide Rampello commemorating the history of the Arsenale in a performance incorporating dance and narration that will be stage on the Darsena Grande (the main dock).

FREE TRANSPORT SERVICE TO THE ARSENALE

A series of colourful boats further adorned by the presence of orchestras and street artists will set sail from the San Marco area and transport the excited public to the Venice Arsenale. The bank where everyone disembarks will be transformed into the Bank of Wonders and the visitors will be greeted by food and wine stands and artists who will guide them towards the dock with their performances.

Every evening after 6 PM, once the afternoon mask parades in Piazza San Marco have finished, a wondering marching band led by stage conductors will move along with artists on stilts towards the boarding area.

Other specially decorated boats will then leave from Rialto and Piazzale Roma to complete the special service, while the public transport service while also be enhance with the addition of a “Bacini” stop, which will allow the public to access the north part of the lagoon.

AFTER SHOW

At the end of the show created by Davide Rampello, which takes inspiration from the famous fire at the Arsenale in 1569 and the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the festival will continue late into the night within three Tese dell’Arsenale (boathouses) that have been specially set up as a Lounge Bar, with internationally renowned DJs.

Our magazine Visit Venice – Winter 2014 with all the events of the Winter season in Venice, can be downloaded online for free! You can download it on your Ebook Reader, Tablet, Smartphone, and take it with you!

Inside the magazine you will find further insight, about the enlargement of the Accademia Gallery and the fabulous restoration of Palazzo Mocenigo – and Costume Museum of Perfume. You will also find a list and a brief description of the main shows to visit in Venice until the end of March 2014.

Visit Venice in Winter 2014 can not miss appointments with the Carnival of Venice.

You can take a look at the magazine (and download it)

• here from the platform issuu.com

Ice Skating in Venice: Campo San Polo, from December 2013 to March 2014

The modern ice rink that cheers up the Venetian winter every year in Campo San Polo, in the heart of the historic centre, opens on 7 December 2013. It will remain active every day throughout the winter until the end of carnival (4th March 2014). Of course, it is possible rent the equipment (skates) on site or bring your own.

Afternoons are dedicated to children, and the evenings are filled with music and figure skating shows. All around the rink you will find a Christmas market type village of stands with wine, food and typical craft products.

Opening Hours
From Monday to Friday
3 pm – 7pm

Saturday and Sunday
11am – 9pm

Prices
From 6€ to 10€

VENICE CARNIVAL 2014: the WONDERFUL and FANTASTIC SIDE of NATURE in a fairy tale CARNIVAL – THE FANTASTIC FOREST

The 2014 Venice Carnival will be a great festival dedicated to the fabulous, the marvellous and the fantastic: a Carnival composed of fantasy and nature. The objective will be to use individual and urban masks to inspire the public at the party to rediscover the importance of the fantastic, whether popular or cultured, esoteric or didactic, in the relationship between humans and the environment.

In Venice, the 2014 will Carnival be represent a veritable encyclopaedia of fantasy: a huge morphological map of human creativity free from constraints and happy to explore nature and its mysteries, taking the form of shapes, sounds and attitudes, free to travel through the minds of our ancestors as well as those of our children. For the city of Venice and its numerous cultural institutions, it is an opportunity to contextualise the presence of the fantastic the Veneto and lagoon region: from the Cansiglio woods to the peaks of the Alps, from the vegetable plots and orchards of Garda to the lagoon valleys, from the islands of the ultramarine East to the Armenian, Turkish and Greek Fondaci (combined inns and market-places).

Carnival of Venice highlights:

Friday 14th February: Prologue, Valentine’s Day

Saturday 15th February: Opening of the Venetian Festival with a show, Cannaregio

Sunday 16th February: Boat pageant – Grand Canal – Cannaregio

Saturday 22nd February: The traditional “Festa delle Marie”

Sunday 23rd February: Flight of the Angel

Saturday 1st March: Float parade, Marghera

Sunday 2nd March: Flight of the Eagle and Flight of the Donkey, Mestre

Tuesday 4th March: Flight of the Lion and Prize Giving Ceremony for the “Maria” of the Carnival 2014

From 22nd February to 4th March: Best Masked Costume contest

In 2013, the Carnival of Venice is now even better with the DANCE NETWORK; throughout the carnival period, parties, dinner and disco evenings will take place in five special locations: Capsula – Casino of Venice, Palazzina Grassi, Hotel Hilton Molino Stuky, the San Gallo Theatre and Dock 117 on Tronchetto. The programme includes 16 unmissable events.

On Saturday 2 February 2013 at Capsula will be “Anonima Veneziana”, a costume party letting you discover the charms of masked seduction. Giovedì Grasso (“Fat Thursday”) on 7 February 2013, also at Capsula, with a party to kick-start the carnival’s sprint finish. Also, on Friday 8 February 2013, at the San Gallo theatre, will be “Decadenza”, the theatrical party of Alexander Toesca, who’ll be the DJ and director of a decadent baroque soirée.

On Saturday 9 February, prepare for a burst of creativity at the masked party of Capsula, Chapeau 2.0. This theme party insists you show off your most unusual and original headgear. At the same time, one of the biggest names in international dance is coming to the Venetian Lagoon: Luciano, DJ and producer of Cadenza Vagabundos, the record label that epitomises electro music. From 11 pm, Dock 117 on Tronchetto will be hosting a great night of dance with a DJ mixset by Luciano supported by other DJs. The Venice Carnival will also be celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the record label Cadenza, with a birthday after –tea party starting at 8 pm on Sunday 10 February 2013 at Capsula.

Mardi Gras, 12 February 2013, will be the grand finale with simultaneous parties in all Dance Network Carnival locations in Venice.

The Venice Carnival 2013 is dedicated to colour: the title of the carnival this year is, in fact, “Vivi i colori – Live in colour”. The events will unfold from 26 January to 12 February 2013 and, alongside the theme of colour, the programme is taking the approach of last year, dedicating a great amount of room to cultural events and involving key institutions, from the city museums to Venice’s churches and buildings.

You have an enormous number of shows in store all over the city: daily events including theatre, music, the circus, gastronomy and cinema. Of course, the 2013 Carnival will not neglect the traditional events such as the Volo dell’Angelo (“the Angel Flight”), the Festa delle Marie (“Marie Contest”) and the Festa Veneziana in Cannaregio, not to mention the usual twists and turns as the carnival unfolds.

Again this year, the traditional GranTeatro in St Mark’s Square will be set up for the carnival, a unique setting in the world’s most famous square, where you’ll be able to take on a leading role in the carnival’s events.

The theme of the Carnival of Venice 2013 is colour, explains artistic director Davide Rampello, “because there is no city on earth where its colours are brought out better than when reflecting off the water of Venice’s canals and lagoon. The Carnival of Venice 2013 will be the Carnival of colour, as each colour conveys and arouses an emotion which each one of us associates to a particular mood. This experience of colour is one that is thoroughly cultural; religious, national or mythological traditions all associate themselves with colours that can be magical, miraculous, satanic or sacred. The Carnival is the festival of cultures par excellence, especially in Venice, being the first cosmopolitan metropolis in Europe.”

For Complete Programme click here

Two ice skating rings, double the fun. Open every day, all day, during the Carnival. On Campo San Polo and on Piazza Ferretto. During the evening there will be a live music performances and dj sets for the visitor’s entertainment.

In Venice historical Center there is a 450 square metre egg-shaped rink, surrounded by a ‘village of stalls’, a traditional Christmas/Carnival market, with locally made arts-and-crafts items and food and wine.

Opening hours: Mondays to Thursdays from 3 pm to 7 pm, Fridays from 3 pm to 9 pm, Saturdays from 11 am to 9 pm, Sundays from 11 am to 7 pm. There will be special prices and special season tickets (10 entries) and ice skates to rent.

Until 21th, February 2012

The 2012 Venice Carnival was inaugurated by the opening in Saint Mark’s Square of the “Wine Fountain” stage machinery designed by the chief designer of La Scala of Milan, Angelo Lodi. The fountain, which will remain open until February 21, 2012, was created in honour of an old custom: taverners used to sell their products in Saint Mark’s Square right in the shadow of the Bell Tower of Saint Mark to keep the valuable wine cool, which is the origin of the Venetian expression “ombra de vin” to indicate the (altro…)

From August 29 to November 25, 2012
Giardini and Arsenale

Several days ago, during a meeting with representatives of the 41 countries participating in the 13th edition of the International Architecture Exhibition, David Chipperfield, the new Director of the Architecture Section of the Venice Biennale, personally announced the theme for this year’s Biennale, which runs from August 29 to November 25, 2012 at the Giardini and the Arsenale (opening (altro…)

Until 21th, February 2012

Since February 4th, a massive 9-meter-high wooden has been positioned on a floating barge in Venice for Carnival 2012. This new symbol of the carnival festival, a spectacular giant machine designed by renowned artist, sculptor and Venetian mask maker Guerrino Lovato, is intended to resurrect one of the oldest Venetian traditions related to the history of the city and Carnival.

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From February 4th to 21st 2012

THE GRAN THEATRE IN ST. MARK’S SQUARE
From 11 to 21 February 2012 

This year too, on the occasion of Carnival 2012, a big Stage will be set up in St. Mark’s Square. The “Grand Theatre” will be the heart of one of the most famous events in the world. Besides the traditional shows, such as the “Angel Flight”, the “Festa delle Marie” (or “Feast of Marie”) and the “More Beautiful Mask”, it will also host performances of the most innovative companies, including (altro…)