Exploring Carnival as an aesthetic and social phenomenon. And where, if not in Venice? The Venice Carnival Museum aims to strengthen the connection between the local cultural identity – in the Serenissima, the Carnival was declared a public holiday by a Senate edict in 1296 – and the artistic imagination, which over time has drawn on the allure of an ancient collective ritual. At Palazzo Dolcetti, on Fondamenta Zattere at Ponte Longo, this history takes shape through works of painting, sculpture, and ceramics, as well as historical costumes, which make up Arnold Uvarov's private collection. For many years, the collector has been gathering works inspired by the Carnival and Commedia dell’Arte, with the aim of bringing lost Venetian artefacts back to light, but also of showing the extent to which the Venice Carnival has influenced the masters of art history. Divided into five exhibition spaces, the Venice Carnival Museum thus follows the common thread of transformation and ambiguity throughout the works on display, which include pieces by internationally renowned artists – from Gino Severini to Joan Miró to James Holland – as well as by figures closely associated with Venetian tradition and the applied arts, such as Geminiano Cozzi and Luigi Fabris. The collection spans three centuries of history, from the 18th to the 20th century, and also includes two works by Picasso and a plate signed by Jean Cocteau (in the fifth room, dedicated to the 20th century and the evolution of Carnival in modern art). The tour begins by immersing visitors in the theatrical and spectacular dimension of Venice, before delving into the theme of identity and its disguises, celebrating the human form and the worldliness of the Venice Carnival. Here, alongside paintings by Claudio Rinaldi and Henri Serur, are decorative porcelain works by Geminiano Cozzi and a dress that belonged to the mistress of the son of King Louis XV of France. The third room is an ode to Venice through a series of oil-on-canvas paintings dating from the first half to the mid-20th century, which depict urban scenes, landscapes, and festive moments of the Carnival. This room also houses Fabris's sculptures on the theme of the mask. In the fourth room, meanwhile, the focus is on the desire for modernity, elegance, and progress that was gaining ground at the beginning of the 20th century. Also representing this period is Mariano Fortuny’s Delphos dress. The exhibition concludes with a focus on the influences of Carnival on the art world. The figures of the Commedia dell’arte – Harlequin, Pulcinella, Pierrot – reappear as symbols of freedom, metamorphosis and inner resilience in works by Picasso, Cocteau and Severini. And Carnival becomes an intimate and creative act. “We wanted to restore the Carnival to its full complexity, to show its reflections in art, in fashion, and in social life across different eras. This museum is a tribute to Venice, to its ability to transform itself and to inspire creativity through the ages,” explains Uvarov.