Venice Carnival dates 2011

In just a few weeks, one of the world’s most famous carnival events, the „Carnival of Masks“, will open in Venice, the Italian lagoon city (as we reported). Thousands of carnival-goers from all over the world will fill Venice during carnival season to celebrate with the locals.

This year, the Venice Carnival will be celebrated from February 26 to March 8, 2011. The theme of the 2011 Venice Carnival is: "OTTOCENTO – da Senso a Sissi, la città delle donne" (Nineteenth Century – from Senso to Sissi, the city of women), commemorating the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, which is being celebrated this year. The theme also pays tribute to Italian women. The first pre-carnival celebrations in Venice take place a week before Carnival, over the weekend of February 20 and 21. The 2011 Venice Carnival will conclude with a reflective regatta on the Grand Canal, held by candlelight in the evening. Before then, however, numerous events and highlights will take place during the Venice Carnival, which officially opens with a grand show on Saturday, February 26, at 9:00 p.m. The following day, Sunday, February 27, 2011, the famous “Flight of the Angel” (Volo della colombina or Volo dell'angelo) will take place over St. Mark’s Square at exactly noon. From 2 p.m., a varied stage program will be presented in St. Mark’s Square.

The 2011 Venice Carnival season is once again packed with events of every scale: from a small carnival celebration in a Venetian tavern to the famous masked balls of the Venice Carnival, a varied program of events is guaranteed. St. Mark’s Square is the setting for many of the events in particular. Alongside the “Flight of the Angel,” other well-known and popular attractions include the “Festa delle Marie,” featuring historical costumes, jousting, music and street performers, and the “Danza delle ore,” with live concerts, costume parades and a competition to choose the most beautiful masks of this year’s carnival season.