Carnevale in Venice

When I first arrived in Italy it was during Carnevale. I remember walking around the main piazza in Bologna and seeing children in costumes and wondering what was going on. I had heard of Carnevale but solely in the context of the celebrations in Brazil and I did not realize, at that point, that it was also celebrated in other places including Italy.

By year two I had figured it all out and I wanted to visit Venice to witness one of the largest Carnevale celebrations in all of Italy. I had heard there would be many people and that some people wore masks and I was excited to check it out but I was not prepared for the reality.

It was spectacular! The people who dressed up put tremendous amounts of time, energy and passion into their costumes and their characters. They were very serious about the roles they were playing and and they did not break character...even when stopping for a coffee and snack.

We met the couple below when we stopped for coffee at the beautiful Caffè Florian. They informed us that they had travelled from Spain to be a part of the festivities.

There were many couples elaborately dressed in different kinds of costumes. I loved the details and the colors!

There were also some larger groups of presumably friends or family all dressed in matching costumes.

There were even some families with children in full costume as well!

This little guy made my heart melt. He reminded me of a very young Benjamin Franklin. 

It was such a wonderful experience and I highly recommend visiting Venice for Carnevale if you get the chance. Yes, it is crowded (there were times when we could not move because the small streets were overflowing with people) but it is worth it. It was like being transported to another time and place for a day.