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The Carnival of Venice and its masks, briefly
A short history of the festival the masks come from.
Reserve your place at the painting bench ↗The Carnival at a glance
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ends | On Shrove Tuesday |
| Origins | Medieval, with a legend dating it to 1162 |
| Outlawed | 1797, under Emperor Francis II |
| Revived | 1979 |
The season
The Carnival ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday.
A legend
One legend places the start after a Venetian victory over the patriarch of Aquileia in 1162, when people danced in St Mark's Square.
Masks in public
The first documented mentions of masks in Venice date to the thirteenth century.
The ban
Under Emperor Francis II the festival was outlawed in 1797 and masks were forbidden.
The return
The Carnival came back in 1979, and the revival of the masks began as a project of Venetian college students.
Now
Around three million visitors a year come for the Carnival.