A Masked Affair: A Weekend in Venice for Carnivale

Caitlinepstein415/ February 18, 2019/ Europe/ 2 comments

A Masked Affair: A Weekend in Venice for Carnivale

Last year while studying abroad in Costa Rica, I traveled to the Caribbean coast for the Limon Carnival, and a year later, I was able to travel to Venice for one of the original Carnivale celebrations dating back to the 11th century. The city of Venice is astoundingly beautiful on its own, but the wonder of Carnivale was something I knew I needed to experience while studying abroad in Italy.

So, when I heard the dates of this year’s festival, I immediately set out to find train tickets and accommodations. The weekend was undoubtedly pricey, with train tickets at 40 euros roundtrip, a hostel at $20 for the night, and meals at Venice tourist prices, but it was well worth the cost to witness such an iconic event.

After arriving in Venice on Saturday morning around 9:15, we meandered through the city toward Piazza San Marco, the main square of the city. Along the way, we admired the stunning canals and grabbed some traditional festival pastries for breakfast.

We also made sure to cross the Rialto Bridge, the oldest of four bridges spanning the Grand Canal. Its original construction began in 1588, and it is now a popular tourist attraction in Venice.

Then, after a bit more wandering through the city, we made it to Piazza San Marco, where you can see the Basilica San Marco, the Campanile San Marco (the big tower that is featured in the Italy section of Epcot), and the Doge’s Palace. To the side of the Doge’s Palace is the Bridge of Sighs, were prisoners gave their last sigh before their execution.

After admiring the beautiful square and dodging thousands of other tourists, we grabbed some pasta for lunch and then headed to the Libreria Acqua Alta, or the high water book store, one of the most incredible book shops I have ever seen. I visited the amazing Shakespeare & Company bookstore while in Paris, but this one may have it beat for coolest book store.

The books are stored in gondolas and bath tubs, and they have stacked and tied old books together to create walls and even stairs. In the back, along a canal, they have an old gondola that you can hop in and take photos. This is an amazing free option if, like me, you want to sit in a gondola but don’t want to pay the set 80 euro fee for a 30 minute gondola ride!

A lot of stores throughout the city have a myriad of problems with flooding, but Libreria Acqua Alta embraces the water and creates a quirky environment for book lovers. It was definitely one of my favorite things that we did while in Venice.

After the book store visit, we walked through the city hunting for the perfect carnivale mask. There seems to be a store selling masks around every corner, but there are just a few that sell papier mache hand-made masks. These masks are much pricier, but worth it for the craftmanship.

 

It seemed like every mask that I liked was upwards of 45 euros, with others that I picked up being upwards of 150 euros. There were so many that I loved that were elaborate and insanely fabulous, but my student budget allowed for a simple black and white mask with gold edging. It was hand-made and 20 euros, so it fit the quality and price that I wanted for the weekend.

After mask shopping, we headed toward Rio Canareggio for the Festa Veneziana, or the water show on the Canareggio canal that kicks off the three weeks of Carnivale festivities. The first of two shows that night started at 7pm, and we got to the area around 6:15 to find it completely and utterly slammed with people. Over the three weeks of Carnivale, upwards of 800,000 people come into Venice for the festivities, so we shouldn’t have been surprised by the crowds, but seeing that number of people in front of you is different than hearing the number. In the end, we were too confused by the crowds and the flow of people, so we decided to head to dinner and give it another shot at the 9pm show.

After dinner, we pushed through people to try and get to the canal, but kept getting confused and ending up at the end of interminable lines leading to the water. But, I overheard a police officer telling one couple to make a break for the train station, where a little known back passage could be found to the canal.

So, our group of five clutched onto each other and booked it to the train station. We were met with a big group of people in front of the entrance to the passage, but when it opened, we made a run for it. The large groups of people speeding and running to the water were anxiety inducing, but worth it because we found a spot directly on the water for the performance.

The show was inspired by the moon and the water and it was AMAZING. I watched the whole thing in awe, continually looking over at Emily with a face of wonder. I also spent the show snapping away with my camera, and I came away with some cool shots.

The show was fantastic, and made the trip to Venice for Carnivale and all of the pushing and confusion to get to the canal 100% worth it. After the show, we were completely exhausted. Kendall and I had been up since 3:45 am that day to make it to the train station on time, so we were about ready to collapse.

So, we took the water taxi around to our hostel, which was on the neighboring island of Giudecca. The water taxis are pretty pricey at 7.50 euros one way, but we were able to get a student three day transportation pass for 28 euros. The pass paid for itself as we took the ferry to and from our hostel and around the city many times throughout our visit.

Our hostel, the Generator Hostel Venice, was just a minute away from the ferry stop, which made it very convenient. On the ferry, we could get to Piazza San Marco in 2 minutes or to the train station in 30. The hostel itself was very nice, and I picked it mainly because I stayed in a Generator hostel while in London, and liked the modern feel with pod-style dorm beds that have lights and charger ports. Overall, it was a good home-base for our trip, and that bed was super comfortable day after our long day on trains and in Venice.

The next morning, we headed back out to the Canareggio canal for the second part of the Festa Veneziana, where the rowing organizations of Venice put on costumes and row through the canal. This parade was not as professional as the one the night before, but was cute nonetheless.

After watching some of the boat parade, we walked through the city again toward Piazza San Marco. We wanted to be in the main area to admire Carnivale costumes, and the festival-goers did not disappoint.

These outstanding outfits can cost hundreds or even thousands of euros, and are often worn to Venetian balls that cost hundreds for a ticket and have very strict dress codes. I am absolutely obsessed with the outfits and am itching to get my hands on some supplies to make my own dress and mask. I did have a lace dress for the day that felt somewhat fancy, but maybe one day I can fulfill my Venetian princess dreams and make my way back for a ball.

After grabbing a late lunch, we started to make our way to the train station and said our goodbyes to the city on the water. Venice was everything I hoped it would be, and I am incredibly grateful to have witnessed a festival that is so old and so spectacularly beautiful. However, I am also extremely excited to make it back to Venice in a month or so with my mom!! I am stoked to be able to show her around the city, and I can’t wait to see the city when there are a lot less people there!