People wear colourful masks and wonderful costumes at this year’s Venice Carnival. The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival.Carnival of Venice
People wear colourful masks and wonderful costumes at this year’s Venice Carnival. The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival.Carnival of VeniceA masked reveller poses in Saint Mark\'s Square during the Carnival in Venice.REUTERS/Tony GentileA woman wearing a rather wondrously elaborate dress.Carnival of VeniceMasked revellers pose in Saint Mark\'s Square during the Carnival in Venice.REUTERS/Tony GentilePeople in Venice having a wonderful time at the masked costume parade at the Venice Carnival. The carnival runs from Feb. 11 to Feb. 21.Carnival of VeniceMasked revellers pose in Saint Mark\'s Square during the Carnival in Venice.REUTERS/Tony GentileA young lady dressed in black and wearing a mournful pink masque.REUTERS/Tony GentileA lovely woman dressed in black with a bright white maskCarnival of VeniceMasked revellers pose near Saint Mark\'s Square during the preview of Venetian Carnival.REUTERS/Tony GentileEvery year the organisers of the carnival have a unique theme. This year, it is – “Life is Theatre! It\'s Time to Get Masked”.Carnival of Venice
Everyone loves a good party! And few people know how to party better than the Venetians.
The romantic canals, waterways and historic little nooks and crannies that make the watery city of Venice such an attraction for loves is in the throes of its biggest annual party... and wouldn't you know it... they're holding it right on Valentine's Day - the Venice Carnival, from Feb. 11 to Feb. 21.
The event will see people wearing colourful masks and elaborate and gorgeous costumes. The carnival is an annual festival that starts around two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday.
Every year, the organisers have a unique theme... this year it is, appropriately enough, "Life is Theatre! It's Time to Get Masked".
The origins of the carnival are lost in the 11th century... when it was held over two full months of revelry. It fell into disfavor and decline in the 18th century. It was then revived in 1979, with great success and has been an absolutely glamorous and stylish event ever since.
Incidentally, do you know why the noblemen and women of those days wore masks? Well... it was because they wished for anonymity when indulging in excesses of a certain kind! We say no more...
