Are you ready? Come to Venice and show ff your best mask!

Carnival 2012 is ready to begin. Tomorrow 4th February many dances, masks, parades and theatre performances will liven up Venice!

This year the theme of the carnival will be the theatre: “Life as a Theatre!”. So, several theatre performances and many more theatre-related initiatives will be held during this carnival edition.

On 4th February, the Great toast at the fountain of wine, and a beautiful theatre performance, “A Venezia la vita è Teatro” (“In Venice, life is theatre”). In addition, skating rinks will be open to the public in Piazza Ferretto and Campo San Paolo in Venice.

On Sunday 12th, there will be the famous and traditional “Angel Flight”, the exciting flight of a secret guest star, who from the top of San Marco bell tower will fly above the square, landing in the centre of the square. He or she will wear an amazing mask in honour of the carnival.

In addition, this year Venice Carnival will celebrate and remember the significance of the environmental protection, thanks to a special initiative by Ecolamp, the cooperative devoted to the separate collection of rubbish and waste disposal.

From 4th to 21st February will mount a stage – “Teatro della Luce e del Riciclo” – in Campo San Paolo, proposing games and shows dedicated to environment.

For more detailed information about Venice please visit the guide About Venice.

Book your hotel in Venice with About Venice!

Find out more about Venice Carnival.

A special exhibition is still taking place in Venice, from last 1st October 2011 until 22nd January 2012. An exhibition in which history, adventure, science, trade, historical events and great artworks interweave.

As well as Cleopatra seduced Caesar and later Mark Antony, the charming Egypt was able to seduce Rome and later, in the course of time, the whole West.

The exhibition, taking place in the wonderful Sala dello Scrutinio at Palazzo Ducale in Venice – symbol of the city – shows with many findings the relationships between Venice and Egypt during almost 2 thousand years (from the classic age until the opening of Suez canal, an initiative proposed by the government

If you want to spend a magic, and unforgettable new year’s eve, at the sound of music, surrounded by magnificent buildings rich of culture Italy is the place to be!
This year 2011, Italy doesn’t miss the change to surprise us another time with events suitable for every age and for every kind of wallet!

Starting from Turin the capital of Piedomont , in Piazza San Carlo from 22:30 to 01:30 , you will have the chance to partecipate to a free concert full of culture and risorgimental spirit.. Renzo Arbore one of the most famous italian musicians, with the help of his orchestra,will make us dream of the past with his music rich of memory and tradition.

On the other hand, Milan with its charming Castello Sforzesco, will be the setting of a celtic celebration. Internationl groups such as the Irish Kila and the Scots Wolfstone, will project us into the world of the scottish Highlands, with its nostalgic but at the same time, full of life ballads.

Are you a fan of opera or classical music? Then book your New Year’s Eve concert right now!

It could seem too soon but time is running out and New Year’s Eve is near! Have you already thought about how to spend this magic night?

If you’re planning to spend this New Year’s Eve in Italy, then why not to enjoy a wonderful classical music concert or an opera at theatre? Or maybe, even on the first day of 2012!

For those who wish to end 2011 with the magic notes of The Barber of Seville or start the new year with the emotions raised by famous operas such as Nabucco or Tosca, don’t miss the fabulous concerts

St Mary of Health Day is celebrated every year on 21st November, in honor of Madonna of Health, to which the Basilica placed on Canal Grande is dedicated. It is a catholic event celebrated by Venetians and consists in a votive pilgrimage to the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica of St Mary of Health), which was built in late 17th century for celebrating the end of a terrible period of pestilence.

In 1630 Venice experienced an unusually devastating outbreak of plague. As a votive offering for the city’s

Everyone knows the so-called “Indian Summer”, a meteorological phenomenon that takes place in Autumn.

It refers to a period of considerably above normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions, usually after there has been a killing frost. Everywhere in the US, this period is more commonly known as the “dog days”.

In former times in Europe, “Indian summer” was called “Saint Martin’s Summer”, referring to St. Martin’s day, November 11th, when it was supposed to end.

The phrase ‘Saint Martin’s Summer’ comes from France where it is still widely used. In Italy, St Martin’s summer (Estate di San Martino) was expected and celebrated as a rural tradition with ancient origins, and

Halloween night is coming!

Get ready for the most frightful night in the year in the best way. Many Italian cities are planning to give parties and masked balls for 31st October to remind macabre atmospheres of ghosts wandering on earth.

This typically American party has become popular in Italy in the last years, with a bigger success every year. Don’t lose the chance to spend this night at best. There are lots of opportunities to spend a mysterious and frightful night both for adults and children, let’s see some!

Milan gets ready for the “witches’ night”

Venice is one of the most charming cities in the world, a rare treasure famous for its architectural beauty, romanticism and peculiarities, such as living with high water, a phenomenon that is kept under control also by the Venice Marathon event staff.

The 26th edition of Venice Marathon will take place on Sunday 23rd October 2011. This year, probably the 7,000 athletes will be lucky: they will have the chance to cross the wonderful Piazza San Marco.

Start is located in Stra (a small country town about 25 km west of Venice), at the beginning of “Riviera del

Are you ready? The International Theater Festival will be held in Venice from 10th to 16th October 2011 within the framework of Venice Biennale.

It’s a kind of festival-workshop. The newly-appointed Catalan director Àlex Rigola has imagined the festival as an “agora of theatre”, inviting the leading personalities on the international scene –directors, choreographers, artists, architects and set designers, experts in video-writing and lighting creators – to make Venice

On Sunday September, 4th 2011, the traditional and very ancient Historical Regatta comes back in Venice with the typical Venetian rowing, a unique discipline born in Venice hundreds years ago.

The historical Regatta is celebrated every first Sunday of September and it’s one of the most appreciated events by Venetians since it is the most important moment of the agonistic season of Venetian rowing clubs. It took place for the first time on 10th January 1315 during Giovanni Soranzo’s reign, in order to pay homage