The Venice Carnival transforms every winter the city on the water into a living theater, where masks and costumes mix history, mystery and festive sparkle. From its medieval origins to the canals today, the festival reveals centuries-old traditions and sumptuous shows.
While winter covers Venice with its last cold coat and the canals sparkle under the low sun, a national event warms the city and hearts: the famous Carnival. Scheduled from February 7 to 17, 2026, this celebration makes the city of the Doges radiate around the world. This festival, symbol of the Serenissime, finds its origins in the 11th century, with the first official mention in 1094, when an edict of the doge Vitale Falier authorized public celebrations before Lent.
A few decades later, in 1269, the Venetian Senate established Mardi Gras as a public holiday and allowed masks and costumes to be worn, laying the foundation for a unique social ritual. But this period was not just a reason to party. It allowed all the classes to meet and temporarily suspend hierarchies. Nobles, merchants and artisans mingled behind the masks, opting for anonymity and freedom of expression.
Mix and bypass social hierarchies
Over the centuries, costumes became more elaborate, incorporating figures from the Commedia dell’Arte such as Arlequin, Colombina, and Pantalone, and iconic masks such as the bauta (a white Larva mask covering the entire face but with a square jaw that allows the wearer to speak, eat, and drink, often worn with a tricorn hat and black cape) or the moretta – from the Italian “moro,” meaning dark (a small round black velvet mask with two large eye holes). Not to mention the crow’s beak mask, directly inspired by the infamous attire of the 14th-century plague doctor (“Medico della Peste”), which has become the symbol of the Venice Carnival.
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