Venice Carnival 2027

The official Carnevale di Venezia site announces the 2027 edition from 23 January to 9 February 2027. The programme is published on the official site as the date approaches, and the city's tourism platform, Venezia Unica, sells city passes for museums and transport.

Sources: Carnevale di Venezia — official site; Festa delle Marie; Masks and costumes; The traditional sweets; all read 9 October 2026.

The official site tells the story: in 973, during the annual celebrations for the purification of the Virgin Mary at the church of San Pietro di Castello, twelve Venetian girls were kidnapped by pirates. After a chase organised by Doge Pietro Candiano III, they were freed and brought home — and the Festa delle Marie has been celebrated ever since, with rituals that have changed over the centuries.

Today, twelve young women are chosen as the Marias of the Carnival, and a Maria of the Year is elected.

The carnival's iconic disguises include the bauta, the tabarro, the moretta and the gnaga. The official site explains that masks let Venetians of every social class hide their identity and move freely. The bauta, probably the most famous, was a simple mask often worn with the tabarro, a large black cloak; the moretta was an oval black velvet mask, held in place by a small button gripped between the teeth.

To eat, try fritole (Venetian fritters, traditionally with raisins and pine nuts, or filled with custard, zabaione or chocolate), castagnole, and galani — thin, crisp fried pastries dusted with powdered sugar, whose history goes back to Roman times.