After 2 Year Haitus, Venice Carnival Brings Hope To COVID-Crushed Canal City

In St Mark’s Square, a small boy dressed as a Renaissance page happily kicks through the confetti and streamers scattered on the ground. His bewigged father in a purple velvet jacket and breeches follows, perspiring beneath his white face paint in the warm winter sun. Venice’s most famous piazza is fizzing with carnival-goers enjoying the final day of the festivities. 

After two years of canceled or virtual events, Venice Carnival returned to the streets and palaces of the city this year. For many tourist-dependent businesses, it has meant a much-needed glimmer of hope. At chocolate shop Vizio Virtù, artisan chocolatier Laura Bubacco rushes between the workshop in the back and the counter out front to serve customers. Talking on the morning of the final Tuesday of celebrations she says, “I almost didn’t have time to make frittelle this morning,” referring to the traditional fried Carnival pastry. 

At the shop, business has boomed over the last weeks, in sharp contrast to an almost complete dearth of customers and orders over the past two years. Compared to the last pre-COVID carnival season in 2019, Bubacco says the shop has had the same amount of business, if not more, despite a lower number of visitors to the city. She posits that without the barriers and police presence that used to direct carnival-goers directly to St Mark’s Square, more visitors have been taking the time to wander off the beaten track and stop for a chocolatey treat. 

Before she can expound the theory anymore, other customers arrive and she dashes off to refill the tray of frittelle. “This is the curse and the beauty of being artisanal,” she calls back, “you can’t just open a box for more supplies!” Pasticcerie around the city, too, have even had queues forming outside as tourists eagerly seek out their daily sugary fix of deep-fried pastries.  

The local bars, known as bacari, have also seen a roaring trade. Meters away from the Rialto Bridge, L’Bacaro de’ Bischeri is busy with the lunchtime rush. “Over Carnival, we’ve made the same earnings as in August 2019,” says owner Roberto, referring to the last summer before COVID restrictions. Having opened in February 2019, the bacaro didn’t get much of a chance to find its feet before the pandemic forced it to close for months on end. Roberto is delighted with the return of tourists but is quick to add that they have little in common with the overwhelming crowds that plagued the city before. “People seem really respectful and well-behaved this year,” he says. 

Unfortunately, not everyone has felt the benefits of Carnival visitors. Michela Francheschini at mask shop Mater Domini is still waiting for the customers to come flooding back. “I don’t know if the business will survive this,” she says. She has been making artisanal masks from papier mache and decorated by hand for 25 years, but the last three have brought one disaster after another.

The devastating flooding of November 2019 submerged a vast quantity of her stock while the pandemic halted custom almost completely. She tried creating an online store but with little success. “People only buy masks when they are here in Venice as something to take home,” she explains. She’s hoping to see a slight uptick in customers post-Carnival as families stay on for a little longer and have more time to explore the city and its workshops. 

While Carnival has brought relief to some businesses in the city, chocolatier Babucco emphasizes that what’s necessary now is some consistency. “We’ve gone from zero to 100, I’m completely exhausted and Easter is just around the corner,” she says. “Venice needs slow, quality tourism throughout the year.”