PHOTOS: Mahwah Photographer Travels To Venice For Carnevale

Mahwah photographer John Reiter recently traveled to Venice to photograph the traditional Italian Carnivale. He submitted the following description of his experience:

John Reiter arrived at Venice's Marco Polo Airport on February 12 to 23 degree F temperatures and three inches of snow on the runway...to top it off, his boat, taking him  over to the grand canal, had to cancel his stop due to ice in the canal (the first time in twenty years!). He then had to drag his luggage thru San Marco Square packed with millions of people attending the first day of the ten day carnevale. So does John think it was all worthwhile? ABSOLUTELY!

The Venice Carnevale and the tradition of the "masks" goes back to the 1100's when Venice celebrated victory in battle and later, in the in the 1930's, it was banned. The original idea of the costumes and masks was to create an event not influenced by one's social status or gender. In 1979, the carnevale was resurrected by a dedicated network of people interested in keeping the spirit of the festival alive. Today, people come from all over the world dressed in brightly colored costumes and masks to celebrate (most are from France and Germany).  

Additionally, some four million visit Venice each year to watch the event unfold.   
The above images convey much better than words the shear,  "old world" beauty of the Carnevale. To see many more images go to "The Masks of Venice" gallery at   www.johnreiterphoto.com