The 2012 Carnival of Venice will begin on the weekend of 4-5 February 2012.

The title of this year carnival is La vita è teatro. Tutti in maschera (Life is theatre. All dress-up in costume) and is intended to recall the glorious past of the theatre of Venice of the 17th Century.  

Saint Mark's square will be the central venue of the celebrations with the Gran Teatro stage. The main events will take place in the piazza: il volo dell’Angelo (Angel's Flight), la Sfilata delle Marie (Celebration of the Marys) and the contest for the most beautiful mask.  

The Carnival will officially begin Saturday 4th February and will go on until Tuesday 21 February with events planned every day during this time. Please see the bottom of this page to download the official schedule of celebrations (in Italian).

The 2012 edition of the Venice Carnival will end with the traditional celebrations of Martedì Grasso (Mardi Gras) on February 21.

We will be updating this page with more information about the schedule. In the meantime, for more information about the Carnival and its history read last year's article 2011 Carnival in Venice