Highlights
- Immersive atmosphere with a guide in a historical costume of the Venice Carnival
- Tales of Casanova's Carnival and Venice's Libertine Side
- Participants can take the tour in costume
Description
The Venice Carnival is perhaps the most famous and iconic in the world. Come and discover its secrets and history with a Venetian guide in historical costume.
I'm a licensed tour guide and a scholar of my city's history. I've been attending the Venice Carnival since I was a child, and over the years, I've accumulated a 'trunk' of Venetian costumes, accurate reproductions of historical garments, the result of my research on the history of costume.
On this tour, I'll take you on a journey through the history of Carnival, from its origins to the present day, talking about both famous and forgotten traditions and masks.
Our walk will take place mainly in the Dorsoduro district, in an atmosphere of authentic Venetianness, away from the crowds that normally flock to Venice on these days of the year.
Our journey will start from Campo Santa Margherita, one of the largest and sunniest in the city. Here, we'll discover the oldest and most intense carnival traditions, opening windows and anthropological references that will take us to distant yet familiar territories. From those carnivals of the Venetian Middle Ages, we'll move on to the Renaissance, discovering customs and ancient disguises whose memory remains carved on the city's walls. Some masks played with gender inversion, others hid magical and esoteric meanings, and still others had an apotropaic function with respect to the most terrible evils that have struck the Venetians over the centuries. Because not all of Carnival is fun and games... some masks bring back memories of the most dramatic days of the plagues.
During the tour, we'll also talk about the masks of the commedia dell'arte, with their unmistakable characters, whose shows were staged during this period. Because Carnival for Venice was also this: the (very long) season of one of the most flourishing and important stages in the world.
That's how Venice became a city of masks: thanks to anonymity, social classes mingled, identities faded, and even public mockery of aristocratic authority could be tolerated, becoming an outlet for the social tensions typical of societies under the old regime.
Authentic masterpieces of craftsmanship, such as Bauta and Moretta, which we often find in our stories, are not only masks, but the true protagonists of Libertine Venice. These are the stories that will lead us to cross the Grand Canal, up to Campo Santo Stefano, where we'll discover the celebrations that took place in San Marco. So, at the end of our tour, we'll ask ourselves the question that's always hovered around the carnival: behind the mask, does Venice hide or reveal itself?
Includes
Walking tour with a licensed tour guide wearing a historical costume (unless it rains).
For groups of 10 or more, the cost of the headset system is included.
Easy cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
