Venice Carnival 2024 – Ad Oriente, The Extraordinary Journey of Marco Polo
“To the East… the amazing journey of Marco Polo”. Everything is ready for the Venice Carnival which pays homage to the intrepid merchant and promises to explore fantastic and unknown worlds Marco Polo returns to the lagoon as a protagonist of the Venetian carnival tradition. With the evocative title “Ad Oriente. The amazing journey of Marco Polo”, the Venice Carnival 2024 celebrates one of its greatest travellers, whose adventure fully embodies the spirit of the city of Venice: the curiosity, the desire to know and the resourcefulness of the Venetian merchants are at the basis of a way of being that has characterized the entire history of the Serenissima, in a mix of commerce, business, diplomacy and scientific and geographical knowledge.
On the occasion of the 700 years since his death, the theme of travel, discovery and encounters with worlds previously only imagined, but also the journey understood as a journey in search of oneself, to discover oneself different from when one left, will be at the center of the 2024 edition of the Venice Carnival. A path towards the imagination that will turn its gaze “Eastward” on the traces of the routes that the then young Marco undertook to discover new wonders. An educational experience across borders and cultures, unthinkable at the time, which changed the destiny of Marco, the young ambassador of Venice and the then known world.
The entire Municipality of Venice, from 27 January to 13 February, therefore becomes the map of this fantastic journey which will lead guests through the streets and squares, the streets and squares animated by shows, music and art, for a Carnival spread throughout the city territory, from the islands to the mainland. Together we will retrace that unforgettable adventure, exploring the creativity of the Venice Carnival, made up of imaginary worlds, fantasies and desires that each of us dreams of.
An edition that will decline the different events, enriching them with suggestions and imagination with respect to what was one of the most important and fascinating undertakings of all time: the arrival of Marco Polo at the court of the Great Khan in China and his detailed and intriguing story that has come to us through the pages of Il Milione, one of the masterpieces of world literature.
The 2024 edition of the Venice Carnival, which once again sees the signature of the Artistic Director and set designer of the Teatro La Fenice Massimo Checchietto, will therefore transform the city into a fantastic land where the civilizations and cultures encountered by Marco Polo will take shape in the inspiration of Carnival.
“The Carnival will be an opportunity to immerse yourself in the story of the young Venetian Marco Polo, which develops between reality and fantasy to merge and give life to a narrative of great charm that continues to seduce us and make us dream even today. For me, but perhaps I’m biased, it is the most beautiful Carnival in the world, which we distribute over time and space, so as to reach everyone, in the Historic Centre, Mainland and Islands – explains Mayor Luigi Brugnaro – there will be many spaces dedicated to children and families, but also for adults. We want it to be a Carnival that respects the city, those who live there and those who work there. May it be a moment to rediscover irony, smile and imagination, ideally following Marco Polo on his journey, which first of all is within oneself.”
“For some years our efforts have been aimed at implementing the most important operation: recovering the truthfulness of the Venetian Carnival, when Venetians flocked to the fields and streets to celebrate – added Giovanni Giusto, delegated councilor for the Protection of traditions of the Municipality of Venice – Here, this is the spirit that we must recover and restore within an event that is an international event. And the opening of the Carnival with the great Water Festival goes precisely in this direction. From here we start again to give voice to our history.”
“Marco Polo – adds artistic director Massimo Checchetto – is a hero of his time who had the extraordinary fortune of seeing incredible peoples and civilisations, like few others at the time. He left by land towards unknown lands and returned to Venice by sea, gathering an enormous amount of information, facing dangers and misadventures, meeting exceptional characters and having access to a very exclusive world. In the East he refers precisely to this exploration of everything that was beyond, to the east of Venice and of those lands of which he was aware at the time. His direct experience of him therefore merges with the imagination that, as a young man in the Middle Ages, with the information he was in possession of at the time, he could have had of the unknown world. The dreams of the boy Marco will illuminate dozens of streets, squares, streets and squares. The secret is emotions: faced with the wonder of the unknown we are the same now as we were seven hundred years ago.”
A Carnival born in the name of research, mystery and dream, to discover fantastic worlds, mythical animals and new civilizations which, through a rich program of events and shows, wants to transport us on an anxious and adventurous departure towards the unknown.
THE FIRST WEEKEND: THE PROLOGUE IN THE SIGN OF WATER
Water will once again be at the center of the first opening weekend in Venice. On Sunday 28 January, the long-awaited water procession of traditional boats , created in collaboration with the Coordination of Rowing Associations of Voga alla Veneta and led by the legendary “Pantegana”, will officially open the celebrations of the 2024 edition of the Carnival. Decorated boats and rowers in costume will travel along the Grand Canal starting from Punta della Dogana towards Rialto and then meeting under the arches of the market in Erbaria to give life to a colorful celebration. At the same time, from 11.00, the traditional Venetian food and wine tours offered by AEPE – Association of Public Business Owners of Venice return to Fondamenta di Rio di Cannaregio.
The first taste of the 2024 Carnival in Mestre, Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th, will be the preview of the Carnival Street Show which will liven up the Teatrino in Piazza Ferretto. A schedule that will then resume on the following weekend and in the week before Easter. In Piazza San Marco in Venice and in Piazza Ferretto in Mestre, two twin theaters will be set up, in oriental style, to welcome all the masks who want to participate in the now traditional Competition of the Most Beautiful Mask. Moments of entertainment, music and various art will also alternate on the stages.
VENICE CARNIVAL STREET SHOW
The Venice Carnival proposes a schedule with widespread shows capable of involving Venice, Mestre, the islands of the lagoon and the Municipality. Colorful theaters will be positioned in the fields and streets and will provide the backdrop for performances by mimes, clowns, actors, musicians, stilt walkers, magicians and storytellers capable of involving a vast audience of children and adults who will be transported into the world of art of street, comedy, fantastic stories, games and music. A mix of joy, music, choreography and energy, which flows until it involves the most important element of each performance: the audience of any age. A total of 200 artists with the best companies on the international panorama of widespread art.
“Venice Carnival Street Show” will begin with a preview during the weekends of Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th January and will then come to life on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th February, and on the days of the fat week from Thursday 8th February to Tuesday 13th February.
UNKNOWN LAND. MARCO’S AMAZING JOURNEY: THE NIGHT SHOW IN THE ARSENAL
After the success of the 2022 and 2023 editions, the Arsenale confirms itself as the protagonist of an extraordinary and exciting show on the water. “Unknown land. Marco’s amazing journey” the show that will fill the body of water of the Darsena Grande at the Arsenale with magic for about thirty minutes of show, with a title that uses the cartographic term to indicate the parts of the globe never explored, which have come into use in cartography since 1500. An imaginative story that emerges from the waters of the Arsenal, freely inspired by Il Milione and narrated in a fantastic way through the different creative languages of art which, like Marco’s journey, knows no boundaries.
Tickets will be available online from Wednesday 17 January with free tickets and discounts for residents of the Municipality of Venice until all available seats are filled.
THE 12 MARIES AT THE VENICE CARNIVAL
Saturday 3 February will see the presentation to the public of the 12 Maries of Carnival 2024. After the long-awaited selection on January 28th, in which competitors aged between 18 and 28 and coming from the Metropolitan City of Venice will participate , the 12 Maries will parade dressed in historical costumes aboard gondolas along the Grand Canal to reach Piazza San Marco, where they will be welcomed and presented to the public. A collaboration that involves the organization of the Venice Carnival with the newspaper Il Gazzettino and the patron Maria Grazia Bortolato in the footsteps of the unforgettable Bruno Tosi. Subsequently, after an intense program of events and socio-cultural activities, on Shrove Monday, in the Sale Apollinee of the Teatro La Fenice, the proclamation of the winners of the competition will be held, as usual: the Maria of the Year and the Maria of Il Gazzettino, the latter selected by the newspaper’s readers. Tuesday 13 February the traditional presentation of the victorious Mary in Piazza San Marco.
THE PARADES OF ALLEGORICAL FLOATS
The 2024 edition of the Carnival also sees the great return of the parades of masked allegorical floats throughout the city, from the islands of the lagoon – Pellestrina 8/2, Lido 9/2 and Burano 10,11 and 13/2 – to the mainland – Dese 28/1, Chirignago 4/2, Marghera 10/2, Campalto 11/2, Mestre 12/2 and Zelarino 13/2. Dozens of allegorical floats with hundreds of participants, groups of Carnival enthusiasts from all over the municipal area and the metropolitan city, musical bands, majorettes and flag-wavers, will be welcomed by the public with confetti and music to give life to amazing shows in the footsteps of Venetian hero and the discovery of the Silk Road.
VENICE, OR THE ART OF COMEDY
Also this year, one of the most famous theatrical traditions in the world will be included in the rich program of the Venice Carnival 2024 starting from Saturday 27 January: the Commedia dell’Arte. With the “Venice, or the art of Comedy” exhibition , curated by the Pantakin Company, the Comedians of the Art return to Piazza San Marco and Campo Santo Stefano with eight different national and international companies that will alternate for more than 60 performances for the entire Carnival period starting from January 27th from 11.30am to 5.30pm.
THE CARNIVAL OF CULTURE
“To the East… Marco Polo’s amazing journey” is not just street art and outdoor art. Art and theater return to celebrate the Carnival with a program of shows in the city’s cultural spaces with the proven experience of the Carnival of Culture.
Theaters and museums are equipped to host shows, concerts and events capable of satisfying even the most demanding palates, offering a program based on this year’s theme. Workshops for children and theatrical readings, conferences and cinema, concerts, commedia dell’arte and café concerts will alternate between the historic center and the mainland, involving – among others – the Palazzetto Bru Zane, the House of The Human Safety Net at the Procuratie Vecchie, the Candiani Cultural Center, the Teatro Al Parco della Bissuola, the Teatrino Groggia, the M9 Museo del 900, the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista, the Teatro La Fenice, the Teatrino Carlo Goldoni, the Teatro Toniolo, the Teatro Momo, the Foundation Querini Stampalia, the Ateneo Veneto, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, the Veneto Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts, the Teatro a l’Avogaria, etc. Furthermore, we highlight the extraordinary openings of the museums of the MUVE Foundation circuit, the programming proposed by the Venice Biennale and the city theatres.
THE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S CARNIVAL OF THE BIENNIAL
The International Children’s Carnival is a project of the Venice Biennale which since 2010 has been aimed at children, schools with their teachers and families, encouraging creativity and participation in young people and maintaining a constant direct, practical and active dialogue with the participants. From 1 to 11 February, cinema screenings for children and theater performances will be held in Venice at the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale, while a rich program of workshops will be held at the Parco Albanese in Mestre . Furthermore, the area of the Arcobaleno Skate Park will be transformed into an ice skating rink for the occasion to host the Murmuration show.
Creative and artistic workshops will be organized at Ca’ Giustinian, with the setting up of an immersive installation, while at Forte Marghera you can try the experience of climbing to the top of X-Tree, the artistic tree-installation that can be walked inside up to the panoramic terrace at 25 meters above sea level, as well as walks with acoustic and light paths (free access).
AT THE COURT OF THE GREAT KHAN: THE CARNIVAL OFFICIAL DINNER SHOW & BALL
The official Dinner Show & Ball of the Carnival at Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, once again designed by the stylist Antonia Sautter, will be held on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 February and from 8 to 13 February. In Xanadu, a paradisiacal city of gold, guests will be immersed in the exotic and sensual atmosphere of the Court of the Great Khan, the heady scents of spices, the precious silks, the refined dishes of the most refined chefs, the many people, the musicians, the necromancers and jugglers, all magnificently welcomed in the presence of the Great Khan for an evening of Arabian Nights fun. Among sumptuous silk and brocade dresses, exotic and mysterious arts, flavors of distant worlds, dignitaries, ambassadors and merchants of all nationalities will meet in the magnificent rooms overlooking the Grand Canal to enjoy the view of the East.
Tickets available by clicking here.
THE MAGIC OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR
Venice meets the Far East thanks to an initiative organized by the Association for the Promotion of Culture and Tourism Italy-China (ICCTPA) to celebrate the Chinese New Year within the Carnival. “Chinese New Year Magic” will be held from 2 to 13 February, between the main places of Mestre and Venice, including parades, dances, songs and free workshops open to the public to immerse themselves in authentic Chinese tradition and culture.
The key event will be held on February 9th when, in the afternoon, the impressive parade will start through the pedestrian streets of Mestre: the legendary animals will proceed joyfully accompanied by children and young people in traditional clothes with lanterns in hand to celebrate, together with the public, a dizzying countdown towards Chinese midnight (5pm local time) driven by the joy of artists, musicians and projections that will keep the energy high until midnight local time, bringing the public into the magical atmosphere of New Year’s Eve. In Venice, however, Campo San Polo will be themed for the event, while the Arsenale will host Chinese art shows and the Museum of the 20th century (M9) will be part of the numerous workshops to gain direct experience of some of the milestones of Chinese culture. ‘Orient.
Thanks to the involvement of the city’s commercial and tourist fabric, there will be no shortage of other musical and entertainment initiatives in public establishments in the area.
Under the heading Metropolitan Carnival, all the events organized by the Municipalities of the Metropolitan City will be collected to facilitate the participation of visitors and citizens in the area and thus provide a single program of entertainment.
Partners of the Venice Carnival 2024 are: Venice Rovigo Chamber of Commerce, Consortium for the protection of DOC Prosecco, American Express.
Institutional partners of the Venice Carnival 2024 are: Venezia Unica, Avm Holding, MUVE, Casino di Venezia, Fondazione Teatro La Fenice, M9.
More details at https://carnevale.venezia.it
