Carnival in Venice

[Rowan MacD]

   No one does it like Venice.  There is a simple, lacy filigree mask on one lady at the very end I am just drooling over...

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/venice-carnival-1328480763-slideshow/#crsl=%252Fphotos%252Fvenice-carnival-1328480763-slideshow%252Fmasked-reveller-poses-saint-marks-square-during-venetian-photo-213027272.html

[Auryn]

you wanna know something crazy
for as long as I can remember every year for carnival there are torrential downpours- im talking that the whole city gets flooded and they have to put up walkways for people to be able to get to and fro

This year instead they got artic cold winds but still had 25 thousand people the first day

I love that mask you posted- stupendous.
In all the years I lived there I never went- because of the crowds and clockwork like bad weather
but I love looking at the pictures 

[Rowan MacD]

  I noticed that nearly all the revelers were warmly dressed, I knew they were having freezing weather there.
    I want to visit Italy eventually. 
    I lived in Germany for 3 years and visited the border areas of France and Holland a few times.  Amsterdam is amazing.

[amy]

That mask is so beautiful.  amazingly delicate.    And I love the hat in photo 20!

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

you wanna know something crazy
for as long as I can remember every year for carnival there are torrential downpours- im talking that the whole city gets flooded and they have to put up walkways for people to be able to get to and fro

This year instead they got artic cold winds but still had 25 thousand people the first day

I love that mask you posted- stupendous.
In all the years I lived there I never went- because of the crowds and clockwork like bad weather
but I love looking at the pictures 

There are certain times of year in Venice where the water floods.  It is called Acqua Alta, and it comes over the tops of the canals and it does get high enough that they build wooden walkways.  I've been reading some murder mysteries set in Venice, and one of them takes place during the Acqua Alta, which can be anytime between the months of September through April, but more common in the Nov-Dec time period.

[Anna Iram]

I wanna go too!  Imaging glidng down the canal in a gondola on the way to a masked ball. The city of Venice as a backdrop. *sigh*

Thanks for posting this. Love looking at the lavish designs.

Here's some more pictures to drool over. Love the first with the green and red.

http://www.bestourism.com/medias/dfp/5569

Lo

Amy, yes that's quite a hat on pg 20. Pirate gone wild. 

[Rowan MacD]

 OOOOOOO.  I like that pirate too. and the one of those two ladies wearing what look like puppet stages or a carousel as a shirt with a 18th century bodice.  And that jester with two masks!
   

  By contrast the Venice photos make the pics of the Brazilian version of carnival look crass and tasteless.
Like comparing a Hustler centerfold to a Rembrandt.

[Adriana Rose]

When I win the lotto I want to go there so bad!

[operafantomet]

The current carnival is Venice is actually a newer tradition. Like other Italian city states the carnival was greatly celebrated in the past, as a big feast before Lent. The origins of the carnival in Venice is from year 1100 or thereabout, but the tradition died out in the 18th century, when the Venetian republic fell.

It was revived first in the 1970s, which is the carnival we know today. The main opera house, Teatro Fenice, was one of the main forces behind it. And amusingly enough, it's the 18th century style they've revived, not the origins of the carnival. This is why there's a strong Rococo flair, the commedia dell' arte figures, white masks and many black/white/silver themed costumes.

The pictures in that link is fantastic, Rowen! I dream of one day experiencing the carnival in Venice. There's something about the huge amount of people in costume on that tiny island, with water all around, that makes it look so eerie and yet fun. Have any of you actually been there during the carnival?

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

Carnivale in Venice has been  a dream of mine for many years.

The costuming is FANTASTIC! Worth each in the four and five figures! A Costume such as those could never be made on the cheap! EXQUISITE in detail, design, and workmanship. I have a HUGE file folder of wonderful costumes I yearn to make.

In my dreams that is! One can only dream on such a large scale.

[DonaCatalina]

That would be the Carnival of all Carnivals to be in Venice. Thanks for the photos; and too bad the canals are frozen.

[Anna Iram]

Wow....

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16164869

[DonaCatalina]

......and Rome received 30 inches of snow.