- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:25 05:43 12:19 15:46 18:50 20:09
Masked balls are a highlight of the Venice Carnival. (AP)
Masked revellers swarmed Venice over the weekend as the historic Italian city launched its annual Carnival.
Hundreds braved wintry weather to watch a street parade and performance of 18th-century Venice-set comedy The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni on Saint Mark's Square.
Yesterday, tourists thron-ged the main piazza to watch the Carnival's traditional "flight of the angel" in which a young woman glides on a harness from the belltower of Saint Mark's Basilica.
The centuries-old 10-day carnival had fallen out of favour but was reinstated – in part as a tourist attraction – in 1980.
This year, Venice shares the limelight with Rome, which launched the second edition of its own carnival on Saturday, and Viareggio in Tuscany whose 137-year old carnival is known for its papier maché puppet politicians.
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