The Carnival of Venice.

The Carnival of Venice is truly an amazing event. Last year  my friends and I were lucky enough to attend the festival and experience it ourselves.

The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival, held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival starts 40 days before Easter and ends on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Martedi Grasso), the day before Ash Wednesday.

The Carnival started as a time for celebration and expression of obliteration of bounds throughout the classes, as wearing masks hid any form of identity between social classes. During the 1970s, the Italian government decided to bring back the history and culture of Venice, and sought to use the traditional Carnival as the centerpiece of their efforts.

Today, approximately 30,000 visitors come to Venice each day for Carnivals. One of the most important events is the contest for the best mask, held  at the last weekend of the Carnival. A jury of international costume and fashion designers votes for "La Maschera piu bella".

We stayed in the Antico Capon Hotel. It is a very friendly, family-run place situated on one of the city’s most atmospheric squares, in the heart of the student district. We had breakfast at one of the cafes on the square. Prices in this hotel are hugely varied, so we booked our rooms in advance.

My friends and I bought traditional carnival masks and we took part in the party which was organized in our hotel by the owner. We met with many interesting people and, participated in the contest of masks.

The owner of the hotel organized a holiday supper with traditional Italian dishes which were delicious and tasty. All people were in festive dresses and at the end of the day we had a chance to see salute in celebration of  the festival.

This party was fun and entertaining. The memory of the happy music and the colorful costumes will stay with me all my life. It was an occasion I’ll always remember and I hope I will have the chance to go there again next year.