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The Venice Biennale is one of the prominent contemporary art exhibitions that take place everywhere once or twice every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is too is part of the Venice Biennale of Architecture that is organized in even years. It also started it’s a new section named to be as Biennale “International Festival of Contemporary Dance” as formed in year 1999.

The first Biennale was organized in 1895 as during its first editions the decorative arts played an important role into it. And event became more and more international in nature at the first decades of the 20th century from 1907 onwards. There several countries later on with the progression of festival kept on organizing exhibition. After the World War I, the Biennale kept on showing its interest into innovative and new tradition of culture and modern art.

In 1930, the rights to organize Biennale went from the Venice city council to the national Fascist government. In the 1930s, there much new section several new sections of the festival started, comprising: the Music Festival in 1930, the International Film Festival in 1932 and the Theatre Festival in 1934. From 1938, there Grand Prizes were provided in the art exhibition section. After a six-year break post World War II, the Biennale was once again organized in the year 1948 with showcasing and creating attention from various forms and activities in Europe.

The protests of 1968 presented a crisis like situation before the Biennale; the Grand Prizes were left out and rather focus was pressured over to thematic exhibitions instead of monographic ones. The 1974 festival was completely dedicated to Chile, as a sign of the cultural protest against the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Its 50th edition was directed by Francesco Bonami and had many a co-curators into it including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Catherine David, Igor Zabel, Hou Hanru and Massimiliano Gioni.

The Biennale is organized at a park, the Giardini that has about 30 permanent national pavilions. And the position and accreditation of pavilion somehow was determined by the international politics of 1930 and the Cold War. The pavilion for Great Britain is under control of the British Council and thus is managed by it, while the United States provides responsibility to a gallery selected by Department of State in US. The Giardini involves a massive exhibition hall that houses a themed exhibition curated by the Biennale’s director. A new activity there started a Biennale known to be as The Aperto began as an opportunity to new younger artists that are not represented by any national pavilions.

The Carnival of Venice is an annual affair in Venice that is held there annually in Venice, Italy. The Carnival begins about two weeks before the Ash Wednesday and closes on Shrove Tuesday, the day prior to Ash Wednesday. Carnivale started as a celebration among different classes wearing the masks. Wearing masks save people from any sort of identification of social classes between participants in Carnival. In order to revive the culture of Venice in around 1970′s, the Italian government decided to bring back the history and culture of Venice, and used Venice Carnival as central spot for their efforts. Presently around 30,000 visitors come to Venice each day to be a part of carnival.

Masks have always remain integral to Venetian carnival as traditionally people were let to wear carnival during the festival of Santo Stefano at the start of the carnival season and midnight of Shrove Tuesday. As masks were freed to be wore during Ascension and from October 5 to Christmas, so people could spend a large part of the year as in disguise. Maskmakers (mascherari) has their own respective position in society with their own constructed rules and laws. Venetian masks are formed in leather or with the original glass technique. The original masks earlier used to be very simple in design and decoration and often had a symbolic and practical usage and implication. Presently, they are made up of using gesso and gold leaf and are all hand-painted employing natural feathers and gems to decorate.

Two popular forms of Venetian masks are Bauta and Moretta. Bauta is an entire face, with a robust chin line, no mouth, and lots of gilding. One may recognize masks sold as Bautas while coverign only the upper part of the face from the forehead to the nose and upper cheeks, thereby escaping identity but letting the wearer to talk and eat or drink easily. Whereas moretta is an oval mask of black velvet that commonly is worn by women visiting convents. It was discovered in France and soon became popular in Venice as it brings out the beauty of feminine features. Volto or Larva is the much common mask as used in Venice for centuries. Volto means “face” to design that is was the most common, simplest mask.

The mascherari, or mask-makers had their own reputation in the society in Ancient Venice. They were classified as in class of painters and were always assisted by sign-painters who sketches faces onto plaster in a different shapes and sizes.

Ghetto (the Jewish Ghetto) is that area in Venice where Jews were forced to live from the 16th to the 18th century. However, the city came into influence and become popular after it had reference into Shakespeare’s most popular novel Merchant of Venice. The Venice Ghetto now- a-days is a very surrounding and pleasing community, where Venice’s small Jewish community still live. It is also home to a Jewish museum, the Museo Communità Ebraica.

Venice’s relationship with its long existing Jewish community had been up and down and it took a little time for Venice citizens to develop an attitude of tolerance towards the Jewish community. They were there under impression that Jewish moneylenders and merchants may infiltrate into other sectors of the republic’s commerce and may gain a control over it.

In 1516, around 700 Jews were clamped to move at then-remote northwestern corner of Venice, at an abandoned site of a 14th-century foundry. The word “ghetto,” soon there come into fashion throughout entire Europe for isolated minority groups as originated in Venice. Ghetto is old Venetian dialect for “foundry.” Like other island on Venice, it was too covered from water from all sides and had two access points as were controlled at night and at early morning with heavy gates manned by Christian guards, who were paid by Jews, for protecting and segregating its citizens.

And simultaneously, the entire community grew into about 5,000, showing various languages and cultures. As with the coming of Napoleon in 1797, the ghetto was dispersed and Jews were allowed to move anywhere on their wish and desire. By the World War II, there were about only 1,500 Jews in the ghetto. At the period of Holocaust, about 247 Venetian Jews were deported by the Nazis and there only eight returned. Now about 500 to 2000 Jews there live in Venice.

The Jewish Ghetto of Venice is not as much popular among tourists, yet it is as pleasing being a scenic spot to stroll in night. The ghetto is formed of an open square surrounded by “skyscrapers” from three sides. The lack of space in the ghetto thus have let to construction of many seven low ceilinged stories without any elevator.

According to Venetian laws it is forbidden to create separate synagogues, so the synagogues were being constructed on the top floors of the buildings as it has been described under Jewish law that there should be no obstructions between the congregation and the heavens. Venice’s first kosher restaurant, Gam Gam, is located at Fondamenta di Cannaregio 1122 close to the entrance to the Jewish Ghetto and near to the Guglie vaporetto stop. It is owned and run by orthodox Jews from New York, as it serves lunch and dinner Sunday through Friday.

The once presumed ‘City of Revel’, the Venice is now lacking in charm attracted and attached to its nightlife and whatever is left in the city as far as concerned with terms to nightlife is rather now concentrated to certain tourist centers and places of attractions. Despite retardation to nightlife activities in Venice there are many areas in Venice to enjoy and get into nightlife. Below are listed some of the popular spots for nigh travel and sort of recreation in Venice.

• Bars: Harry’s Bar, Calle Vallaresso, on the western edge of St Mark’s Square, is a popular spot for wine lovers though it is bit expensive. The ownership of the bar is with Cipriani family and they were been host to some of Hollywood’s most rich celebrities. Another two old bars at Florian and Quadri, on St Mark’s Square somewhat is expensive for coffee, but a bottle of wine with nibbles can be afforded by anyone with an average budget. San Marco is a bar with great Grand Canal view at the Hotel Monaco. Their while sitting on a terrace you can watch vaporetti trundling by and tourists as being herded on to gondolas. Campo Santa Margherita was once the very popular spot in Venice and frequented by young and beautiful equally. Margaret Duchamp is one of the liveliest options on the Campo, with outside tables, a trendy interior and a decent pint of Guinness.

• Clubs: As being surrounded by water from everywhere and with hardly any space for recreational activities like Clubs. Therefore young moves towards Mestre, with much space and lesser noise restrictions. In case still you are in Venice and yet wish to enjoy and spare away the time with dancing, there are two popular dance floors Piccolo Mondo, Calle Contarini Corfu as to loved and liked for dancing.

• Live Music: The spot for live music are though not much in the city, yet there is one such for late opening like Bacaro Jazz, Salizada Del Fontego dei Tedeschi, San Marco is the spot for jazz and ahs a cool clientele. The wonderfully named Pizzeria 900 Jazz Club, Campiello Del Sansoni, San Polo presents live Italian and international jazz.

•Music: For grand and heavy dance performances one should move towards the stage of Teatro La Fenice, Campo San Fantin. The city’s opera house is been renovated after reconstruction work after a devastating fire in 1996. The opera season is their being overshadowed by neighbouring Verona. However, the standard of the music is still much enough. Frari Church is another music center in the city that offers recitals from May to October and La Pieta, Riva degli Schiavoni, Castello, known as the Vivaldi church.

• Theatre: Anyone loving theater performances must visit the Teatro Goldoni, Calle Goldoni, San Marco. This beautiful theatre presents the comprehensive repertoire of Venetian classics, including works from the rib-tickling Goldoni. Other options for theatrical performances in the city is Teatro a l’Avogaria, Corte Zappa and Dorsoduro

The romantic Gondola of Venice passing through the maze of canals is being boasted as the most romantic spot in Rome and is a city filled with history and culture. The cultural events as being organized in the city, add to the traditional temperament of city and helps to understand it far better way and manner.

• La Sensa, Marriage to the Sea: This festival is being enjoyed as a celebration to reaffirms the ‘marriage’ of Venice and the Adriatic Sea. The mayor there arrives at the Lido by boat and drops a gold ring into the water. Then after he heads towards the San Nicolo church as to have a particular service. Anybody, there can dive into the sea and thereafter gets back the ring and can keep it and there he is exempted from state taxes for an entire year and season.

• Barcolana: It is one of the leading and biggest sailing races in the world as fans from entire globe there gathers to watch out around 2,000 boats as it battle it out through the Mediterranean shores of beautiful Trieste.

• Festa del Redentore: It is considered as one of the Venice’s most important religious festivals as the Feast Day of The Redeemer and is too most traditional and relates historically to 1576 in commemoration of the end of the plague that that killed around the third of the city’s population. The Church of the Redentore was constructed on the Giudecca Island and there a promise was made by the Doge to carry on and carry forward the thanksgiving every year to the church; the opening of the temporary bridge of gondolas are bind together so that they can be stretched across the canal to the island and that is the traditional start of the festivities.

• Venice Carnival: As operational from the 12th century, the Carnival of Venice is known to be the world’s most famous and recognized festival and gathers the entire city with a good amount and number of musicians, acrobats, clowns, magicians, puppeteers, beautiful masks, elaborate costumes, and parades. People there arrive from around the world as to participate in masked balls and general festivities in and around the ancient Venetian tradition, and there enjoy the theatrical and dance performances, exhibitions and concerts across as well as along the canals.

• Biennale: This is organized in the city alternatively in the odd-numbered years and is a modern-art exposition that is consisted of painters, sculptors, and performance artists from around the world. Most of cultural events are being organized for in the Giardini Pubblici, or nearby at the Corderie dell’Arsenale.

• Venice Film Festival: The Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica di Venezia is the oldest film festival around the world and it takes place during in the month of August every year. There one can take a bus to the Lido as to enjoy the presentations and to get mixed up with stars.