The Venice Carnival has a Very old history of more than 900 years, and historical sources tell that in the 1094, the Doge Falier, organized the first Carnival in Venice, or the first public entertainment event, which was considered a good opportunity for the ruling class to vent social hatred.

This increasingly important event in the city was enriched over time with curiosities that we wish to recount below:

Carnival took on such an important and heartfelt connotation that it could not be interrupted, for any reason, so much so that in 1789 the death of Doge Paolo Renier on February 13 was not made public until March 2, at the end of the festivities.

While many countries have their own traditions, the Venice Carnival has a lot of history that has led to this event being one of the most well-known, colorful and appreciated in the world with the costumed dances, shows and masks that walk the streets and canals in an already magical atmosphere.

Carnival is a festival that has its origins in the Saturnalia, a Roman pagan cult in which gifts were exchanged and social roles were reversed. Slaves could consider themselves temporarily free, and from them a princeps was elected to lead the party as king of Carnival.

In addition to the social connotation, this was a festival with strong religious symbolism: the princeps in fact symbolized Saturn, god of the underworld, guardian of departed souls and protector of crops, and in fact Carnival began in October and then ended before Lent with the banquet preceding Ash Wednesday, the day from which no meat was allowed to be eaten.

In the 16th century, during Carnival, a young acrobat would walk on a tightrope above the crowd in St. Mark’s Square, descending from the bell tower to a moored gondola, and on the way down he would also reach the balcony of the Doge’s Palace to present a gift to the Doge. Because the performance was such a success, it was called “Svolo del Turco” and became a regular Mardi Gras event. For safety reasons, the acrobat, attached to the rope by rings, was made to wear wings, and the Svolo was renamed “Angel Flight.”

In 1759, however, the show ended in tragedy when the acrobat plummeted into the crowd. Therefore, the performer was replaced with a wooden dove that released flowers and confetti on people (Flight of the Columbine). The tradition continued until 2001, when it returned to the Angel and a live person, but well secured with rings and ropes during the performance.

In the 18th century, Carnival reached its peak, and during the six weeks of festivities there were often dangerous and sometimes bloody spectacles, such as the bull hunt in the public streets that ended with the decapitation of the bull, whose meat was then given to prisoners in jails.

From this ancient ritual comes the saying “cutting off the head of the bull” as synonymous with making an irrevocable and drastic decision.

There was also no shortage of fights and “battles” between rival Venetian factions. Still standing today is the Bridge of Fists, on which even more than 300 people faced each other. Since invariably in these circumstances, although weapons were forbidden, knives often appeared, the Republic replaced this violent confrontation with what was called the Forces of Hercules, human columns composed of tightrope walkers and jugglers who sometimes surpassed even buildings in height.