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The Carnival was born in Venice and it has really ancient origins. This recurrence goes back to the 1094 when for the first time the Doge Vitale Faliero inserted it in one of his official documents. The word means literally CARNIS LAXATIO= abandon of the flesh, a chaste behaviour to take before the Lent, almost a purification before the Easter.
With time, to alleviate the strictness, it felt the need to make this period acceptable so that the party and the amusement got the upper hand on it.
In the following years the festivity became longer to such a point that the period started the first Sunday of October to end in the Lent previous days.
During the most intensive period, besides the parties in the palaces, where the nobles wore expensive cloths produced just for the recurrence, in the squares it was possible to admire acrobats, jugglers, exotic animals.

A curiosity of this recurrence is the so named "svolo del Turco" (an acrobat went up in the balance over a rope until the bell tower loggia, then came down until he arrives in front of the Doge, seated between the two red columns of the 'Loggia Foscara' of the Palace, and she offered to a bunch of flowers).