Venice Carnival Fever / by Marco Secchi

On Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 February, the “Festa Veneziana” (Venetian Festival) took place in Venice.The prologue to the Carnival – to be held this year from 26 February to 8 March – is dedicated to the people of Venice. Over the weekend, several of the city’s rowing associations made their way through the city’s famous canals.

The festivities ended with the “Volo della Pantegana” (the flight of the rat), a parody of the flight of the angel, which traditionally opens the Carnival.

VENICE, ITALY - FEBRUARY 20:  A woman wearing Carnival costume and mask poses in St Mark Square on February 20, 2011 in Venice, Italy. The Venice Carnival, one of the largest and most important in Italy, attracts thousands of people from around the world each year. The  theme for this year's carnival is Ottocento amd Sissi, a nineteenth century evocation, and will run from February 19 till March 8.  (Marco Secchi)

More pictures of Venice Carnival check under Images