Venice, the floating dream. I find the island city particularly atmospheric in the biting cold of winter. The crowds are less and the canals seem silent and still, shimmering and gliding through the labyrinth of narrow streets and neighborhoods.
I happened to be there in February 2015 when the famous Venice Carnival, Il Carnivale, is held annually in Venice. It is famed for the elaborate masks people wear.
Il Carnivale is believed to have begun in the year 1162 when the Venice Republic against the Patriarch of Aquileia, Ulrico di Treven.
The festival was outlawed entirely in 1797 and the use of masks became strictly forbidden. By the 19th Century it slowly began to reappear in private events, thought it wasn't until 1979 that Il Carnivale returned in full after its long absence.
