Venezia – Before and After Carnivale
Venezia during Carnivale (13- through 20-February) fell short of becoming the deterrent people had warned me about. While the Venetian Carnivale is just as raging as the Brazilian version, it’s a equally party for the young and old alike. Even with the addition of 140,000 international tourists clogging the narrow arterial canals and stone-paved pathways near the Piazza San Marco, Carnivale was pure joie d’ vivre and excitement of the unexpected (which was easy since I had no expectations). The vibrant colors of streamers, silly string, a metric ton of confetti, and the costumes, some extravagant – some playful, lifted the dreary gloom of Venetian winter. Carnivale is a time to experience and appreciate in awe from afar Venetian flair and sheer opulence. After all, very few of us can afford the 350 Euro per plate dinners or the royal balls or the accompanying rental cost of the exquisite period-piece costumes which are de rigueur for these types of nightly occasions. For the rest of us huddled together for warmth in the Piazza San Marco, free nightly entertainment was provided, which included dancing, artistic performances, and on one of the nights…a Venetian version of the Cirque D’ Soleil (performed by Signor Goldoni Carlo and the Comici Company) with the added bonus of pyrotechnics. If it wasn’t obvious from the performance that night that Venetians love fire, Carnivale week culminated in a spectacular fireworks performance in the piazza, which could be observed as far as Lido Island off the coast of Venice, where I was warm and dry from the drizzling rain.
My previous venue before arriving in Venezia via train was Trieste. I did not stay in Trieste long enough and felt that more time was needed to peel the layers of this seemingly quiet city in Northern Italy (near the Croatian border). Photographs of Trieste other than my personal favorite mentioned in previous posts include the Catedralle and Castello d’ San Giusto, walkways, piazzas, roaming cats, and sunsets over canals.
cristi.farrell