The "Volo dell'Angelo" in Venice

The "Volo dell'Angelo" and the Colombina

It is the name of the oldest and most exciting ceremony linked to the Carnival, known at least originally also with the name of Svolo del Turco. Legend has it that this tradition began in the sixteenth century with the daring feat of a Turkish artist who, from a boat, managed to reach the belfry of San Marco by walking on a rope.

The act became so famous that it was repeated in subsequent years, though with a slight change in the formula: the artist chosen to portray the angel would walk a rope from the Bell Tower, descend to the Loggia topay homage to the Doge, and then ascend again.

An exciting spectacle originally scheduled for Shrove Thursday, but later moved to the first Sunday of Carnival. After professional artists performed, the workers from the Arsenal, known as the "Arsenalotti," also participated, eventually becoming true specialists in the craft. Legends and history intertwine in these performances: from Sante Lazzari, who in the late seventeenth century reportedly arrived at the bell tower riding a horse, to a group of four artists a century later who reached the top with acrobatic feats.

However, not everything always went smoothly, and chronicles record instances where angels "fell" dramatically into the crowd. It was likely for safety reasons that, in later years, the angel was replaced by a wooden dove, which, activated by a special mechanism, released flowers and confetti onto the spectators gathered in Piazza San Marco. From the "Volo del Turco," to the Angel, to the Colombina.

Who makes the "Volo dell'Angelo" in Venice?

In the last two decades, however, it was decided to restore the spectacular flight over Piazza San Marco with a person, this time however well secured to the rope. Since the 2001 edition, the "Volo della Colombina" has been replaced by the "Volo dell'Angelo", a role in which well-known faces of sport and entertainment have alternated. After Katiuscia Triberti of the Compagnia dei Folli who relaunched the custom, the showgirl Antonella Elia, the models Carolina Marconi, Bianca Brandolini d'Adda, Margherita Maccapani Missoni, the presenter Carlotta Mantovan, the singer Coolio, came down from the Campanile di San Marco. the sporty Frida Scarpa and Federica Pellegrini.

Then, from 2011, the role of Angel was attributed to Mary of the Year, the winner of the beauty contest in historical clothes that recalls the medieval festival where girls of marriageable age were involved in a particular blessing.

The "Volo dell'Aquila"

While the Flight of the Angel usually opens the festival, it is not the only acrobatics associated with Carnival. In fact, since 2012, in the week following that of the "Volo dell'Angelo", a second passage on the square has been introduced, called the "Volo dell'Aquila", also assigned in this case to well-known faces of sport and national culture.

The sports Fabrizia D’Ottavio, Francesca Piccinini, Carolina Kostner, Giusy Versace and Arianna Fontana, the showgirl Melissa Satta, the skier Kristian Ghedina, the musician Saturnino and the entrepreneur Renzo Rosso took turns twirling from the bell tower of San Marco.

Performances which, however, constitute only a piece of this historic Carnival, which is built, prepared and lived for several months. Having the opportunity to participate as protagonists and to live it freely is an experience that can only be fully experienced by those who have thought about buying a house in central Venice.

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