If there was a heaven on Earth, it would be in Italy’s ancient streets. Although I am not a religious person, when I walked through Italy’s grand cathedrals, I understood why people truly believe in Him and I full heartedly respect that. You feel so tiny, so insignificant inside these massive works of art. Without exaggeration, this country’s architecture truly does take your breath away and leaves you speechless. I remember purposely getting lost in the streets just so I could find some hidden beauties in each of the four cities I visited. I walked miles through the ancient ruins in Rome. I climbed up the steep stairs of the Florence Cathedral to see the whole city from its highest peak. I waltzed with beautifully masked Venetians during their treasured Carnival of Venice. Finally, I catwalk my way into Italy’s fashion capital of Milan for a grand finale. Italian art and culture has inspired me for many years, so seeing all of these treasures truly opened my mind like no other country in Europe.
Since I was a little girl, I read many books on different stories and myths of what happens at the Venice carnival. Due to these tales, I made myself a promise to at least go to the carnival once myself. Though, I would have never guessed that my parents would accidentally take me to it. Their streets filled with water and their building tight as building blocks, this unusual city already stood out like a white pea amongst Italy’s other pearl cities. Once I stepped into Venice, crowds of soulless masks stared at me once I made it to their city. Without a mask, you were outcasted like a white crow in this crowd of brightly colored Victorian characters. Feathers, gems, fabrics, and pieces of gold flew throughout the streets as everybody from around the world gathered in this Italian treasure of a city. My first task was to get to the hotel so I could immediately go out to look for a mask and fit in with the rest of the people there. This took up at least half of our day but at least we got to admire the scenery while doing so. We always kept coming back to the same spots when we made our way around Venice. Especially during the carnival, something made it feel like Venice was a miniature set with cute dollhouses and beautifully dressed dolls. Everything was so compact and tight that you could even hop your way across some small canals between buildings. What seemed to really bring this city to life was that this carnival was going on everywhere you looked. People danced to beautiful music, ate plentiful meals together, and even decorated the streets in brilliant lights for the upcoming evenings. Everybody was in a good mood despite the cold, winter air sending a chill down the spine.
When the sun finally went down, that was when everything began to glow. While Venice seemed to be a very quiet and petite place, it seemed like the circus was passing through town when night finally hit. Since it was getting colder in the evening, Venetians made sure to make everybody feel comfortable and entertained. My parents took me to the spectacular local dance show where a man dressed in a huge bull mask waltzed with a woman draped in red. Lasers and tons of confetti sparkled in the sky as Venice welcomed us to its one of a kind event. To admire the city at night, we finally went to a very friendly gondolier to ask if he could take us through the canals to show and explain where everything was. I learned that he has lived in Venice for all of his life and has been riding people in his gondola for many years because of how much he loved his hometown. Even though I do not see myself living there, it definitely was a very welcoming environment with friendly people. If you truly want to see Venice’s fairytale come to life, I recommend at least dropping in for one or two days to see the city spark up for you.
