Venice Carnival 2023

Venice Carnival 2023 programme

The theme of Carnival 2023 is the Zodiac and the 4 natural elements: earth, water, fire, and air, under the direction of Massimo Checchetto, artistic director and scenographer of the La Fenice Theatre. The slogan of this Carnival 2023 is: “to find oneself in one’s own sign, that everyone in Venice may find their own essence and uniqueness” (ritrovarci dentro nel nostro segno).

An edition born under the sign of the Lion of St Mark under the banner of free expression, creative energy, the zodiac, fantastic worlds, mythical animals and heroes, which will begin on Saturday 4 February with the opening parade “Original Dreamers” along the Grand Canal and will end on Shrove Tuesday 21 February.

• Friday 3 February in the halls of the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelist: Mary’s Day selection of the 12 Maries of the Carnival of Venice 2023 from among all the girls born or residing in the 44 municipalities of the metropolitan city of Venice and aged between 18 and 28 to then become the protagonists of a journey through time that will involve them in numerous activities up to the procession on the Grand Canal, in a gondola, and the crowning of the Mary of the Year, who will take place on Monday 20 February in the Apollinee Rooms of La Fenice and thus take the sceptre of the Mary 2022 : Alice Bars.
• On Saturday 4 at 8pm:the “Original Dreamers” opening parade, the Original Dreamers will stage all the symbols of the Venetian carnival tradition thanks to the presence of artists, colours, light effects and music to bring to life a very evocative aquatic route that will wind from the aquatic area in front of the Santa Lucia train station to the Bacino San Marco and will be enlivened by the presence of Alice Bars, winner of the Marie 2022 competition
• On Sunday 5: a hundred rowing boats will invade the Grand Canal, filling it with colours, decorations and masks : The water parade will start from Punta della Dogana and arrive at the Rialto, headed by a caorlina carrying the papier-mâché “Pantegana”, one of the symbols of the Venetian popular carnival, ready to burst in front of the Rialto Bridge in an explosion of confetti and streamers, thus giving the symbolic “kick-off” of the 2023 Carnival celebrations.
• On February 4 and 5, Venice Carnival will also kick off the Carnival Street Show, a series of shows spread across the main squares of Venice and Mestre, where street art will triumph with performances by actors, acrobats, magicians, musicians and illusionists.
• From February 4: contest for the most beautiful mask in St. Mark’s Square and the most beautiful masquerade in Ferretto Square . The year 2023 also marks the return of comedy to St. Mark’s Square and Campo Santo Stefano with “Venice, or the Art of Comedy”, with shows by comedians, under the direction of Pantakin, alternating for more than 70 performances.
• Friday 10 to Sunday 12 at the Arsenale (6.30 pm and 9 pm): Show at the Arsenale tese, book to get a seat Eight tableaux staged by a spectacular international artistic cast will tell the story of man’s evolution through a continuous communicative research. From the body that speaks to the ancestral signs of nature, from the need for contact with the transcendental and its celestial symbols to the need to express oneself with the signs of Art in an explosion of colours. A show about water whose creative energy releases the symbols of earth, water, air and fire. A journey from the origins to the authentic.
• Saturday 11 2:30 pm; the parade of the 12 Maries from the church of San Pietro di Castello, to the arrival in St. Mark’s Square via Via Garibaldi and the Basin of St. Mark
• Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 February: Street Show Carnival performances, “allegorical, masked and colourful floats, as is the tradition, which were suspended during the period of the pandemic and which today we are keen to bring back to the streets so as not to lose the popular customs”
• Saturday 11 and from Friday 17 to Tuesday 21 February, inside the Tese di San Cristoforo, dance music will be the protagonist of the evenings of the “Arsenale Carnival Experience” in a complex formed by three pavilions fitted out and equipped to entertain young and old of all nationalities.
• Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 February and from 16 to 21 February: Dinner shows at Ca’ Vendramin Calergi.
• Flight of the Angel is cancelled due to works in St. Mark’s Square
• Thursday 16 to Tuesday 21:performances of the Carnival Street Show
• Thursday 16 to Tuesday 21 February at the Arsenal (6.30pm and 9pm): Show at the Arsenale
• Friday 17 at the Lido: float parade
• Saturday 18 at Marghera and Burano: float parade
• Sunday 19 at Campalto and Burano: float parade
• Monday 20 in Mestre : parade of floats
• Tuesday 21 in Zelarino and Burano: parade of floats
• Extraordinary openings of the museums of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia circuit as well as the programme proposed by the Venice Biennale and the city’s theatres

Vaporetto lines during Venice Carnival 2023

From Saturday 11 February to Tuesday 21 February 2023, new vaporetto lines will make it easier for Carnival participants to move around the important locations of the festivities.

These are the vaporetto lines:

• ARLECCHINO line (Tronchetto – P.le Roma – Ferrovia – Rialto – San Tomà – Accademia – San Marco – Tronchetto) from Saturday 11 to Tuesday 21 February 2023, with a frequency of 20′ from 8:35 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.
• PANTALONE line (San Marco – Accademia – San Tomà – Rialto – Ferrovia – P.le Roma – Tronchetto – San Marco) Saturday 11 – Sunday 12 – Saturday 18 – Sunday 19 and Monday 20 February 2023, 12′ frequency runs from 2.36 pm to 5.12 pm and from 5.26 pm to 8.50 pm, and 24′ frequency runs from 9.14 pm to 1.02 am; from Monday 13 to Friday 17 and Tuesday 21 February, runs at 20′ frequency from 3.12 pm to 8.32 pm.
• Colombina line (San Zaccaria D – Murano Navagero – Murano Faro – Murano Colonna – San Zaccaria D) from Saturday 11 to Tuesday 21 February 2023, runs every 30′ from 10.14 a.m. to 5.14 p.m.
• Line CA – Carnevale all’Arsenale (S. Marco/S. Zaccaria – Arsenale/Torre di Porta Nuova): access is allowed on board with the ticket for the show and with the following Actv tickets: € 5.00 A\R ticket dedicated exclusively to line CA, hourly tickets (1, 2, 3, 7 days), Rete Unica subscription, Rete Unica ticket or booklet (reserved for cards connected to the Venezia Unica network).

The costumers work on their costumes for months, they are works of art to be admired as such. You can participate simply with an outfit purchased locally in the many traditional Venetian specialty shops or from imported goods dealers. The important thing is to participate as you wish.
The most beautiful costumes can be booked with the details below.