Where in the World: Venice, Italy
While OCONUS living has its challenges, which I’ve written about in the past, traveling is not one of them. Actually, to rephrase, the logistical part of traveling in foreign countries can be ultra-challenging but actually traveling is pretty darn cool. In the little more than a year we’ve been stationed in Italy, we’ve seen and done things I only saw on Pinterest, tucked away in a file I named “Bucket List.”
Living in Europe affords you the opportunity to make some of those bucket list items a reality, and all of a sudden, you start experiencing cool things that never made it on your list.
While I know there are incredible opportunities and events to experience all over the world, I’m highlighting some of the places and spectacular oh-my-gosh-we-stumbled-on-this events. I want to give you a virtual passport to some of these cultural events that we’ve been blessed to experience.
I’m kicking it off with one of my all-time, hands down, no doubt in my mind, favorite events of the year—Carnevale in Venice.
Carnevale welcomes 3 million people annually as they celebrate the two weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday (or the beginning of Lent). Think Mardi Gras but much older and more elaborate.
Between the masquerade balls, boat regattas, localized desserts made only during Carnevale, and the elaborate masks, it’s stimulation overload when you step off the train into this world of disguise and intrigue.
First, a little history lesson on the origins of Carnevale.
Back in the day, the 40 days of Lent (or the days leading up to Easter) were a period of reflection and self-deprivation as the people tried to be more “Christ like” and focus on the holy as opposed to the secular. This meant you said goodbye to parties, alcohol, meat, sugar, and fats. Carnevale literally means carne and vale, “farewell to meat.”
According to tradition, Carnevale got its start in Venice in 1162, but by the 16th century, Venice celebrated in over-the-top style.
Venice is probably best known for its elaborate mask-wearing during Carnevale.
While mask-wearing during this time had been going on for quite a while, by the time of the Renaissance, mask-wearing was a Venetian staple.
But it wasn’t just at Carnevale.
Residents of Venice were permitted to wear masks six months out of the year in accordance with their holiday calendar. One theory is that the masks hid the faces which, in turn, completely destroyed the strict European social hierarchy while the town was in their masks and the peasants were mingling with the aristocrats on the waterways of this incredible floating city.
In 1798, Austria had conquered Venice, and mask-wearing as well as Carnevale were all but finished. In the 1930s, Mussolini banned the celebrations all together. However, in 1979, a group of Venetian artisans banded together to restore the glamour, opulence, and decadence of Carnevale, and the world has been mesmerized ever since. The gowns, the masks, the parties, the balls, the candlelit nighttime boat parades all add to the mystery and beauty of this celebration.
My favorite event of the Carnevale season is the Flight of the Angel. Strung atop St. Mark’s Campanile, the bell tower, in Piazza San Marco at a staggering 323 feet up, a beautifully adorned angel is attached to cables and slowly lowered the entire length of the piazza.
Originally, the flight began as a way to pay homage to the Doge (the senior most elected official in all of Venice), but now it’s a beautiful show of costuming and music as this teenage girl in 10-foot wings floats high in the air showering the crowd below with glitter and confetti.
She proclaims the official beginning of Carnevale.
This was our first “event” when we moved to Italy, and watching her float down in angelic majesty to the words of Ave Maria as sung by Celtic Woman was the most mesmerizing thing I’d ever seen. Tears rolled down my eyes as I mentally checked off my first (of many) “I didn’t even know this was on my bucket list” bucket list items.
