Events in Venice

Venice has been a popular travel destination in its own right for centuries, but the spectacular floating city becomes even more tantalising when festivals and other special events take to its winding canals and wide open piazzas. As a city steeped in culture, Venice is a major go-to destination for many cultural explorers, especially when festivals are in town.





Many of Venice's most famous events concern the city's religious heritage, making occasions such as Lent especially significant. The ten days leading up to Shrove Tuesday are celebrated in Venice by the magnificent Carnevale, which involves a number of music concerts, pageants and masked balls across the city. Carnival masks can be bought from stores all over Venice, and many locals and visitors wear fancy dress throughout the festivities, making for a great and eclectic atmosphere.





Venice's impressive buildings play an important role in many of the city's events too, particularly St Marks Basilica in San Marco Square. The tradition of benedizione del fuoco on Maundy Thursday is a more austere and peaceful contrast to the colour and excitement of the Carnavale, and involves the lighting of the sacred flame in the cathedral's atrium, followed by a candle-lighting procession. St Mark's Day itself is also celebrated locally with many events, including a gondola race in Bacina di San Marco on 25 April each year.

This isn't the only sporting event of the Venetian calendar, of course, as the city also plays host to everything from marathons to regattas. If you're feeling fit, you can join in with the running race around the city's historic streets and canal bridges on the second Sunday of March, or take to the canals themselves for one of the many rowing races of the calendar. Some of these are particularly grandiose, notably the "Palio delle antiche Repubbliche Marinare" which involves the racing of four boats representing the republics of Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa and Venice itself.





Some of Venice's best known events are more artistic in nature though, such as the Biennale. As its name suggests, this modern art exposition takes place every two years - specifically in odd-numbered years - and attracts artists of all disciplines from all over the world to the Giardini Pubblici and Corderie dell'Arsenale for four months from June to October. Wherever you're staying at hotels in Venice during your visit, you can be sure you're never too far away from special events in this remarkable city.





Isla Campbell writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.