Italy: Venice Carnival opens

Italy
Carnival opens in Venice

The Venice Carnival in the historic lagoon city attracts people from all over the world. photo

© Antonio Calanni/AP/dpa

Finally carnival again without corona restrictions in Venice: this year the lagoon city is reminiscent of the origins of the festival in the Middle Ages.

Artists and actresses opened the carnival in Italy’s lagoon city of Venice with medieval costumes and a large bust of a unicorn. During the roughly hour-long opening ceremony late Saturday night, a boat carrying the statue and dancing performers floated along the central Grand Canal, watched by thousands of visitors along the banks. On Sunday, carnival revelers in various costumes traversed the city’s canals on ornate boats and the famous gondolas.

“Take Your Time For The Original Signs” is the theme of this year’s edition. The organizers want to remember the origins of historical carnival festivals in Italy. The history of the festival in Venice dates back to the Middle Ages. It is also a landmark of the city and last but not least a tourist magnet.

The festival is famous for its elaborate costumes and Venetian carnival masks. Hundreds of thousands of guests usually flock to the northern Italian city for the celebrations from all over the world. The municipality therefore ordered for the period of the carnival (February 4th to 21st) to close sections of the sidewalks or to divert visitors if the sidewalks were overcrowded.

In the past few years, the festival has run for three editions under Corona conditions. In 2022, the 2G rule still applied to concerts, performances in theaters and exhibitions. Accordingly, at this point in time, the corona vaccination certificates or proof of recovery, which have now disappeared from everyday life in Italy, were still required for access.

dpa

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