Fun Facts about the Venice Carnival

Our beloved Venice; symbol of romance, beauty and love, is celebrating its annual carnival in this month of February and to honor the tradition, we wanted to share some fun facts about its history.

• The Carnival started as a tradition of the noble people to hide behind masks and costumes to mix with the commoners of Venice and dance around the San Marco square.
• It is believed that the celebrations at San Marco square, started as Venice became a republic “Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia”.
• Most of the costumes are part of the fashion trends of the XVIII century, as this was the time when the carnival reached its maximum splendor.

• When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Venice by the end of 1796, the carnival celebrations were forbidden as a measure to prevent conspiracies against him.
• Only until 1979 the carnival festivities were reestablished
• Despite this being an event where thousands of tourists attend to every year, the best parties and masquerades are private and limited to locals by invitation only.