This year's Venice Carnival to honour Marco Polo

2024 marks the 700th anniversary of the legendary explorer’s death

Prepare for 18 days of Venice Carnival season this year as the festivities will go on from 27 January to 13 February. This year also marks the 700th anniversary of the death of probably the most famous Venetian of all time – Marco Polo. That’s why the organizers have set up ‘Ad Oriente’ (To the Orient) theme of the Carnival.

During the more-than-two-week period, the entire city of Venice will be transformed into a map harking back to the medieval merchant’s adventures in Asia. Visitors will be able to walk through the streets and reach squares animated by light shows, music and art dedicated to the theme.

The Venice Carnival itself dates from the times of Marco Polo

Interestingly enough, the Venice Carnival itself can be traced back to the times when Marco Polo was alive. Its history has been met with a lot of ups and downs as throughout the centuries official celebrations have been prohibited by various conservative-minded rulers. The current version of the Carnival actually dates back to 1979 having been revived after 180 years of dormancy.

In general, the Carnival costumes harken back to the 18^th century Giacomo Casanova era, which was when the last editions of the original festivities took place. This time around, however, Venice will look further back into its rich history to commemorate the legacy of one of the first records of travel literature – Il Milione, or as the world commonly knows it The Travels of Marco Polo.

“The Carnival will be an opportunity to plunge into the tale of the young Venetian Marco Polo, which unfolds somewhere between reality and fantasy to create a fascinating narrative that still continues to captivate us and make us dream. In my opinion, but perhaps I am biased, this is the most beautiful Carnival in the world, which we spread across time and space, in order to reach everyone, in the Historical Centre, the Mainland, and the Islands,” said Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice.

Costumed visitors can look forward to water parades, allegorical floats, masked balls and night parades, with a spectacular procession along the Grand Canal opening this year's festival officially on 28 January.

You can check out the programme of the Venice Carnival here.