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Photos: Venice’s iconic masked Carnival returns in style
Over 850 years old, the annual masked balls and weeks-long Carnival return to the streets of Venice, Italy expecting millions of revellers in period costumes and fantastic masks.
Updated on: Jan 31, 2018 12:06 PM IST
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A masked reveller in a traditional carnival costume poses on the pier in St Mark Square during the opening of this year’s Venice Carnival. The typically extravagant carnival that runs until Valentines’ Day eve, kicked off on 27th January and will continue till 13th February just before Lent. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP)
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Dancers from South Korea perform during the Carnival in Saint Mark square. Each year, the Carnival brightens up winter days in January and February with its slew of parades, parties, and the magnificent costumes. (Manuel Silvestri / REUTERS)
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According to tradition, the carnival begins with ‘the Flight of the Rat’, when a giant model rat leads decorated boats in the opening regatta as it sails down the Grand Canal. (Manuel Silvestri / REUTERS)
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The Venice carnival is believed to have started in 1162, when Venetians spontaneously gathered in Saint Mark’s Square to celebrate a military victory of the Venetian Republic. (Manuel Silvestri / REUTERS)
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A masked reveller in a traditional carnival costume stands in St Mark Square. It was during the Renaissance that it became an official celebration, appealing to Italians because of the opportunities lent by the masks and parties to forget the rigid class system and the era’s daily concerns. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP)
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The festival was abandoned during the rule of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II in 1797, and stayed so until 1980 when the government revived the carnival to promote Venetian history and culture. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP)
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Today around 3 million visitors from around the world descend on the lagoon city to join in the celebrations, which continue until Shrove Tuesday just before the Lent fasting period. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP)
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The massive popularity of the carnival highlights Venice’s struggle with excessive tourism, which many Venetians blame for making the city ‘unliveable’. The Carnival period sees excessive period style dinner and dance parties which can range in the hundreds of euros just for entry fee. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP)
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Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has gone so far as to encourage visitors to head out the city’s suburbs to ease overcrowding, and promote celebrations on the mainland. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP)
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With several distinct types of masks including the beaked ‘Medico Della Peste’ or plague doctor mask symbolic of the carnival, a key event of the three-week affair is the competition to judge the most beautiful mask. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP)
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In the past mask makers were highly-regarded members of society, with their own guild and laws governing when people could wear masks. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP)
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