Venice's Carnivale dates back to 1268 -- that's one long-running celebration!  One of the eagerly anticipated parts of Canivale is the traditional Flight of the Angel which took place on Saturday.  A young woman dressed as an angel, is lowered from the bell tower at San Marco into the piazza while the costumed crowd looks on and cheers.

This year's Carnivale theme is "Ottocento: da Senso a Sissi, la citta della donna" -- a tribute to the 19th century, 150 years of Italian unification, and the powerful women of Italy.

In celebration of Carnivale, I'll be having another book giveaway on Friday.  Until then, here's a video of the Flight of the Angel from Venice last weekend.