Venice is one of the most beautiful places in Italy, which is located the Northeast  of the Peninsula. The city is also known as the lagoon town. Venice is well-known as a popular travel destination at the Adriatic Coast. The city is the capital of the Veneto region and of the province of Venice.

It's not only the beauty of Venice, that makes it a popular tourist attraction, but the cultural and historical peculiarities also make Venice so popular. And among them, the Carnival in Venice, the world famous tradition makes the city a great attraction and sometimes Venice is also visited for this festival only. The Carnival in Venice is celebrated by its inhabitants but also attracts more and more tourists each year.

The Venetian Carnival is celebrated as an an ancient Medieval tradition in the beginning of the Lent season. It's origin goes back to the 12th century when the
Doge´s government gave the Venetian people permission to wear masks and costumes.

The activities of the carnival start on the 26th of December (St. Stephen´s Day or "Shrove Thursday") and last until Tuesday ("Martedi Grasso" or "Mardi Gras") before Ash Wednesday ("Lent Wednesday"). During the festival, the inhabitants took possession of the public places and the Venetian palaces altogether. And the places such as the Piazza San Marco are turned into performance stages for actors, artists, acrobats and musicians. The carnival processions moved slowly through the narrow streets of Venice and across the bridges. However, the visitors and aristocrats also ride through the canals in decorated gondolas.

The amazing part of the carnival is that several characters from the Commedia dell´Arte, the famous 16th and 17th century Italian theater, also serve as inspirations for many of the historic costumes which ranged from historic characters and merchants to aristocrats and church characters.