Sunday, September 16, 2012   Venice, Italy. The Venice Carnival
or Carnevale di Venezia occurs every year and ends with Lent,
forty days before Easter on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or
Martedì Grasso), the day before Ash Wednesday. Masked men and
women parade through the squares dressed in elaborate costumes
and there's always a party of some sort at any given moment.
Legend has it that the Carnival began with the victory of the
"Repubblica della Serenissima", Venice's previous name, against
the Patriarch of Aquileia, Ulrico in the year 1162. To honour
the victory, people started to dance and make reunions in San
Marco Square. Apparently, this festival started then and became
official in the Renaissance.  But for some reason, the Carnival
declined and ceased during the 18th century. In 1979, after a
long absence, the Italian government decided to bring back the
history and culture of Venice and sought to do so using the
Carnival as the centerpiece of their efforts. Today,
approximately 3 million visitors com