Carnevale Is Launched in the Light of Day

Some of the color of the water parade, with the recently renovated Ca' Da Mosto in the background, second from left

After the Vegas-y spectacle of the night before staged twice on the Cannaregio Canal, oriented largely toward out-of-towners, the association of the lagoon's rowing clubs had their annual corteo acqueo down the Grand Canal on yesterday. This year the number of boats seemed less than previous years, the costumes and decorations less involved and festive. But perhaps that's only because this year I was watching from a different and perhaps wider part of the canal than in prior years; I've seen no reports on actual participation. 

For images from previous years: http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2016/01/carnevale-opens-with-venetian-air.html

http://veneziablog.blogspot.it/2014/02/carnevale-parade-of-boats.html

The customary giant floating rat leads the parade                    photo credit: Sandro

An acquatic menagerie headed the corteo

The city's bookish Lion marked the boat carrying the mayor

Clad in a 19th-century-style black hat and cape Mayor Brugnaro looked to be reprising his role as Ebenezer "Are there no prisons for the poor?!" Scrooge, which he debuted just a few days before last Christmas with his idea of creating a "citadel" in which to sequester the destitute

Any familiarity with how Venice is run might easily have lead one to assume this Mickey Mouse crew to be the city administration but, in fact, the mayor had already passed

A bit of tango on the Grand Canal

                                          A wide view of the parade of boats as it reaches Ca' D'Oro                                   photo credit: Jen