Carnevale di Venezia

Since I last wrote, I took my first trip outside Le Marche (where Macerata is located). Two other American friends and I took an overnight university bus to Venice to see the Carnevale spectacle. Carnevale is celebrated across Italy for 10 days before the beginning of lent. Adults and children wear costumes similar to our Halloween costumes, throw paper confetti, and eat lots of deep-fried Carnevale cookies and pastries. Venice is famous for its century-old tradition of dressing in Renaissance costumes and masks.

The journey there was exhausting on many levels, however. The cramped charter bus ride was certainly a full immersion experience. The day trip was advertised for the University of Macerata students so Rai, Diana and I were the only Americans. We left Macerata at 4:00am so that we could arrive in Venice at 10:30am. Luckily, we knew about 5 other Italian girls on the trip who were a huge help in navigating the winding streets of Venice and communicating with other people. Sandwiched between a group of seven girls loudly gabbing away in Italian and a couple’s endless, passionate smooching behind my seat (a common sight in Italy), I hardly slept on the ride. It was a relief when we arrived at Mestre and took a train to the island of Venice.

The city was absolutely breath-taking. For the first time in weeks, the sun shone brightly, making the colors of the buildings and the water so vibrant. Understanding the history of Venice made it even more fulfilling. Venice was one of major trade ports in Italy for hundreds of years. It’s known for connecting eastern European trade with the western world because many merchants from Constantinople (the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire) stopped there. Therefore, the architecture of the cathedrals, the doge’s palace, and the clock tower in the main square of San Marco look very Byzantine. It’s renowned for being one of the most unique and peculiar places on earth because of its unique location, its history, and its eastern influences. The magnificence of the ancient city, the elaborate Renaissance costumes, and the glittering masks of Carnevale was like walking in a dream.

Unfortunately during our walk to San Marco (the main square) to see the Flight of the Angels performance, I started to see spots. Though I refused to admit it to myself at first, I was getting a migraine. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I was lying down in the room of a random hotel in excruciating pain. Luckily with my medicine, I was only out for about an hour, and we still had adequate time to experience Venice. Rai (my roommate) was an incredible friend and stayed by my side the whole time.

Even though we missed the parade and a few performances in San Marco, we had a fantastic time exploring the city. Near the end of the day, we bought masks and took a boat ride through the Grand Canal. The view of the city from the water as the sun set was something I’ll never forget. We left Venice at 6:00pm and got home to Macerata around midnight despite class at 8:30 the next morning. It was so worth it!