Casanova the centre of 2025 Venice Carnival celebrations launched with masks, boat parade

Giant inflatable rat leads Grand Canal boat parade, then explodes raining confetti to open 2025 Carnival honouring legendary philanderer

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A giant inflatable rat, called the Pantegana, explodes with biodegradable confetti at the head of a procession of boats on the Grand Canal in Venice that marked the opening of this year’s Carnival. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:45pm, 18 Feb 2025

The opening weekend of Carnival in Venice culminated with a water procession along the Grand Canal that finished in front of the Rialto Bridge with a flourish of colourful streamers and confetti – all completely biodegradable.

Venice’s Carnival brings thousands of people to the lagoon city to watch the water procession, one of the event’s highlights, and check out people in elaborate costumes and masks who wander the narrow alleys and gather in St Mark’s Square to be photographed.

The popular event forces authorities to designate some alleyways as one-way to keep pedestrians moving.

This year’s Carnival celebrations, which run until March 4, are dedicated to the famed philanderer Giacomo Casanova, who was born in Venice 300 years ago. Casanova is mostly remembered for the descriptions of his many seductions and sexual conquests.

Masked Carnival revellers in fancy dress during the water procession to mark the start of festivities. Photo: AFP

The giant Pantegana, an inflatable rat, leads a procession of boats on the Grand Canal marking the opening of the 2025 Venetian Carnival, dedicated to the “Time of Casanova”. Photo: EPA-EFE

Revellers in matching costumes row their boat during the masquerade parade on the Grand Canal that marked the opening of this year’s Venice Carnival. Photo: Reuters