Carnevale di Venezia 2025

The Venice Carnival began with “The Night of St. Valentine. Heart to Heart”, an initiative dedicated to all lovers of all ages, with gags, daring romanticism, performances of historical dances, music and dance. The hosts were Marco Maccarini and Chiara Perale, with the intrusions of the eclectic Prince Maurice in the role of a sophisticated Casanova and an unlikely Valentino played by the jester Manuel Bruttomesso (aka Nespolo Giullare).

During the evening, lovers engaged in romantic declarations of love from the stage of San Marco thanks to the initiative “Scream your love”.

At the Venice Carnival, widespread art has returned to the city, with the program of the Venice Carnival Street Show “Casanova…che avventure da matti!” which has proposed a kermesse of various art shows in the squares of Venice, in the center of Mestre, on the islands of the Lagoon and in the Municipalities. A journey through the colors and emotions of live entertainment for a total of over 80 companies, 250 artists and 1000 performances. A no-limit program of art and shows spread across Venice in Campo San Geremia, Santa Maria Formosa, San Giacomo dall’Orio, San Cassiano, Santa Margherita, Esedra Castello; while in Mestre the artists will be found, in addition to Piazza Ferretto, also in Largo Divisione Julia, Piazzetta Battisti, Via Poerio and in Via Palazzo.

9 evenings, 18 performances, 540 hours of total entertainment, and over 25,000 spectators.

The show “Giacomo. A Love Story” – conceived and directed by Enrica Crivellaro, turned into poetry by Antonella Barina, and under the artistic direction of Massimo Checchetto – was staged from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 February and from Thursday 27 February to Tuesday 4 March, with two daily performances at 6:45 PM and 9:00 PM.

For approximately 40 minutes, the Arsenale dock became a floating stage for a sequence of powerful, dreamlike images capturing the very soul of Giacomo Casanova. Told in seven chapters between reality and fantasy, facts and dreams, the show portrayed a man who made a Carnival of his life—upending conventions with dazzling freedom.

Among masks and colors, Piazza San Marco also welcomed two special guests: Myaku Myaku, the official mascot of Expo 2025 Osaka and Italia-chan, the official mascot of the Italia Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka. The two characters flanked the Parade of the most beautiful mask to greet the audience of the Venice Carnival 2025 with a warm konnichiwa.

12 groups from all over Italy and over 250 participants paraded in Piazza San Marco on the afternoon of Monday, March 3, carrying masks from ten Italian regions, selected by the Unione Nazionale Pro Loco d’Italia. From Piedmont to Sicily, from Trentino Alto Adige to Sardinia, passing through Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise and Puglia, each territory brought to Venice customs and traditions that have their roots in history, offering a fascinating journey from north to south thanks to the “Carnevali delle tradizioni”. An event that combines the magic of the most carefree moment of the year with the intangible cultural heritage of ancient, ancestral events that hark back to myths and tradition.

Brought back into fashion by the visionary director Bruno Tosi in 1999 and over time becoming one of the key events of the Venice Carnival, the “Festa delle Marie” recalls a true historical event. It was the year 973 when in the church of San Pietro di Castello, during the annual celebrations dedicated to the purification of the Virgin Mary, twelve Venetian girls were kidnapped by a group of Dalmatian pirates. After a chase organized by the Doge Pietro Candiano III, the girls were freed and brought back to Venice. Since then, the Festa delle Marie has been celebrated every year in the lagoon city with methods and rites that have changed over the centuries.

The Maria of the Carnival 2025, “crowned” in the Apollinee rooms of the Fenice, is the 19-year-old Venetian Elena Sofia Cesca.