Venice, which has always been a melting pot and a cosmopolitan city, hosts several important events every year, from interesting art exhibitions to world-famous annual events such as the Venice International Film Festival.
The year opens punctually on the first of January with the New Year's Concert at the Gran Teatro La Fenice, broadcast live every year on RAI 1, and then leaves room between February and March for one of the most famous and appreciated events in the world: the Venice Carnival.
Moreover, during the year there are several traditional Venetian feasts that still have great importance for the citizens of the Serenissima, such as the Redentore Feast and the Madonna della Salute Feast. Let's find out which events you can't miss in 2022 so you can include them in your travel plans!
Venice Carnival 2022
The big opening event of this 2022 is definitely the Venice Carnival, which will take place from Saturday 12 February to Tuesday 1 March under the Artistic Direction of Massimo Checchetto, set designer of the Teatro La Fenice.
Carnival 2022 will be a multidimensional event, i.e. both physical and digital, and the title chosen for this edition is "Remember the Future", inspired by a Salvador Dalí quote: And most of all I remember the future.
Among all the events and activities that will characterise these two weeks of festivities, the most amazing will certainly be Nebula Solaris, the water show at the Arsenale. The show will be repeated twice a day for a total of nine evenings: Friday 18, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 February and from Thursday 24 February to Tuesday 1 March with two daily performances at 6.45 pm and 9.15 pm.
Exhibition
The exhibition "VENETIA 1600. Births and Rebirths", inaugurated in September 2021, continues until 5 June 2022. This exhibition will take you on an exciting journey through the history of Venice, to celebrate the 1600th anniversary of its foundation: a journey made up of splendours and moments of crisis, from which the city has always risen and regenerated.
This is the theme of "Venetia 1600. Births and Rebirths", an exhibition organised by the Fondazione Musei Civici and housed in the Doge's Apartment inside the Doge's Palace. In addition to the great masterpieces from Italian museums and private collections, the exhibition aims to highlight the inestimable historical, artistic and cultural heritage of Venetian museums, churches, libraries and archives.
Exhibition “open-end”
On 27 March, "open-end", a major solo exhibition by Marlene Dumas, will be inaugurated at Palazzo Grassi. Marlene Dumas was born in 1953 in Cape Town, South Africa, and is considered one of the most influential artists on the contemporary art scene.
The exhibition entitled "open-end" presents more than 100 works, tracing a path centred on her pictorial production, with a selection of paintings and drawings dating from 1984 to the present day and new works created in recent years, from the Pinault Collection, international museums and private collections.
CMP Venice Night Trail
The sixth edition of the CMP Venice Night Trail, the city trail organized by Venicemarathon with the patronage of the Municipality of Venice, will take place on 9 April. A magical night race 16 kilometers long, marked by the presence of 51 bridges.
The start will be at 9 pm and the maximum time to finish the race is 3 hours. A unique and alternative experience to live the city of Venice, running in its historic centre, among the calli and callette, among the mystery and the charm of Venice by night.
Exhibition "Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity"
From April 10 to September 26, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice will host the exhibition "Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity", born from the collaboration between the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Barberini Museum in Potsdam.
The exhibition will address for the first time on an international level the Surrealists' interest in magic, esotericism, mythology and the occult.
The temporary exhibition will feature about sixty works from over forty major international institutions and private collections, offering a broad and comprehensive overview of Surrealism.
Among the works in the exhibition, there will be numerous works from the great Surrealist artistic heritage of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, such as Max Ernst's iconic painting "Attirement of the Bride" (1940).
La Biennale di Venezia - the 59th International Art Exhibition
The 59. International Art Exhibition entitled "The Milk of Dreams", curated by Cecilia Alemani and organised by la Biennale di Venezia, will be open to the public from Saturday 23 April to Sunday 27 November 2022 and will be located at the Giardini della Biennale and at the Arsenale.
The exhibition will include 213 artists from 58 countries and will have three main themes: the representation of bodies and their metamorphoses; the relationship between individuals and technologies; and the links between bodies and the Earth.
Saint Mark's Day
On 25 April, in conjunction with the Liberation Day, Venice celebrates the city's patron saint, St Mark the Evangelist, a symbol of strength and pride and a reminder of a glorious past.
St Mark's Day in Venice is also the time of the bócoło (bud) tradition, which consists of giving a red rosebud to a loved one. To find out more about this centuries-old tradition, you can read this detailed article.
Festa del Redentore
Festa del Redentore (Feast of the Redeemer) is one of the most popular festivities among Venetians, combining both the religious and the spectacular aspects, with fireworks on Saturday night attracting thousands of visitors.
This festival is celebrated on the third Sunday in July every year to commemorate the end of the plague epidemic of 1575-1577, and this year it will be celebrated between 16-17 July.
The festival begins with the opening of the votive bridge connecting the Zattere with the Redentore Church on the Giudecca island and ends with the three regattas on Sunday.
The 79th Venice International Film Festival
This year the Venice International Film Festival, now in its seventy-ninth edition, will take place at Venice Lido from 31 August to 10 September 2022. Updates coming soon.
The Historical Regatta
The Historical Regatta takes place every year on the first Sunday in September, and this year it will be held on 4 September. It is one of the most spectacular, picturesque and engaging moments of city life, followed in particular by the Venetians who gather along the banks of the Grand Canal.
The historical procession commemorates the welcome given in 1489 to Caterina Cornaro, the bride of the King of Cyprus, who renounced her throne in favour of Venice.
Feast of Saint Mary of Health
Another much loved feast in Venice is the Festa della Madonna della Salute (Feast of Saint Mary of Health), which every 21 November sees thousands of citizens parading in front of the high altar of the imposing Salute Church, in commemoration of the grace granted by the Blessed Virgin Mary back in 1631, thanks to which the great plague epidemic was brought to an end.
The "Festa della Salute" is certainly the one with the least "touristy" impact, evoking a sincere popular religious sentiment, an excellent opportunity to experience a local tradition.
Which festival or event are you looking forward to?
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