Italian Carnival / Carnevale di Venezia Vocabulary Word List
Celebration Words:
- il ballo in maschera = masked ball / costume ball
- il banchetto = banquet
- il carro allegorico = float
- il concerto = concert
- i coriandoli = confetti
- la festa = party
- la folla = crowd
- i fuochi d’artificio = fireworks
- la musica = music
- il palcoscenico = stage
- i palloncini = balloons
- la sfilata = parade
- le stelle filanti = streamers
- le trombette = party horns / noisemakers
Foods:
- le caramelle = candies
- le chiacchiere = traditional sugar-coated, fried pastry treat
- il cioccolato = chocolate
- lo zucchero a velo = powdered sugar
Costume Items:
- il cappuccio = hood (of clothing)
- la collana = necklace
- la corona = crown
- il costume = costume
- le gemme = gems
- i gioielli = jewelry
- il mantello = cloak
- la maschera = mask
- il nastro = ribbon
- la parrucca = wig
- le perline = beads
- la pittura facciale = face painting
- le piume = feathers
- il trucco = make up
Other Words:
- la cartapesta = papier maché
- la favola = fairy tale
- il pagliaccio = clown
- lo scherzo = joke
- il travestimento = disguise
- i venditori ambulanti = street vendors
Useful verbs / Verbi utili:
- ballare = to dance
- decorare = to decorate
- dipingere / truccare il viso = to paint one’s face
- fabbricare = to make / manufacture
- farsi gli scherzi = to play pranks
- festeggiare = to celebrate
- mascherarsi = to wear a mask / disguise oneself
- indossare = to wear
- scherzare = to joke
- truccarsi = to put on make up
Important Days:
- giovedì grasso = Fat Thursday (Thursday before Lent)
- martedì grasso = Fat Tuesday (last day of Carnevale)
- mercoledì delle cenere = Ash Wednesday
- la Quaresima = lent
Italian Carnival / Carnevale Vocabulary Video + Quizzes
For extra Italian practice and the pronunciation of the words, check out this Carnevale di Venezia YouTube video from my Italian Study Buddy channel!
- The video includes the pronunciation and review of 30 key Italian words about the Carnevale di Venezia PLUS 2 quizzes at the end (multiple choice + picture only)
Italian Carnevale Words - Free Vocabulary List PDF
More Carnevale di Venezia Resources
Carnevale Reading *Advanced
This Italian article is excellent for learning about the history and masks of the Carnevale di Venezia.
Included: Full article, Vocabulary list, Reading comprehension questions with answer key, and more!





