Peculiar games in Venice

At this very moment Venice is overrun with people dressed in the most extravagant costumes, that add to the already considerable number of “normal” visitors. The famous Carnival is taking place and many will describe on the Internet and in the newspapers the magical atmosphere that reigns in the city… However, I do not intend to tell you about today’s celebration, but rather about the Carnival of the past and some curious traditions of the ancient Republic of Venice, also known as Serenissima.

By Alessandra Ivaldi / 12.02.2026

The Venice Carnival lasts from January 31st to February 17th. This year the theme of the festival is obviously linked to the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, hence the official title of this edition of the Venetian Carnival: Olympus – The Origins of the Game. The goal is to build an imaginary bridge between the present and the past, when the Venice Carnival also included acrobatic shows, skill tests, regattas and various tournaments among the streets.

The Olympus stage located in Piazza San Marco, imitating a Greek temple

In this regard we recall the history of the Fist Wars of Venice (in Italian “guerre dei pugni”). Since the first centuries of life of the Serenissima, it was tradition for two different factions, the inhabitants of San Pietro di Castello (known as “Castellani”) and those of San Nicolò dei Mendicali (known as “Nicolotti”), to fight each other with fists over the bridges of Venice. Since bridges lacked side railings in the past, you can easily imagine what the fate of those who succumbed to their opponent’s fists might have been…

In reality, there were numerous bridges used for this type of battle, but one in particular has remained linked to tradition, so that even today everyone knows it by the name of “Ponte dei Pugni” (which means “Fist Bridge”). It is located in the district called sestiere di Dorsoduro. A second “fist bridge”, less well known, is instead located in another district, sestiere di Cannaregio. These places are marked by a precise symbol, which has been traced in the four corners of the bridge pavement: a footprint in Istrian stone.

The clashes between Castellani and Nicolotti represented one of the most anticipated events of the Carnival and could last for months. On the day set for the start of the war, the two teams would march to the sound of music and line up in front of each other. The audience was always large: some enjoyed the show from the boats and some looked out from windows and balconies. The war had to follow a precise plan, divided into three types of challenges: Mostra, Frota and Guerra Ordinata.

Mostra was a boxing duel between the champions of the two teams and marked the official beginning of the war. The defending champions had to stand above their footprints, in the corners of the bridge, and the clash began from there. After this duel, even the other members of the challenging groups threw themselves into the fight, thus starting Guerra Ordinata and Frota.

During Guerra Ordinata (literally a “neat war”), challengers faced each other with punches and shoves. If all members of a faction fell into the water, then the opponents were declared the victors of the battle. Frota, on the other hand, represented a real assault on the bridge. The winning faction was the one that managed to take over the bridge by making all their opponents tumble down, which was very similar to what happened during Guerra Ordinata. The real difference between these two challenges was linked to the fact that, in Frota, there were no rules. In addition to punches and shoves, the use of weapons was legitimate, so that clashes often turned into huge and bloody fights, where challengers could hurt each other with knives. Logically this involved a large number of more or less serious injuries.

For this reason, several laws were enacted over the centuries to limit bloodshed during the Fist Wars. In 1705 this tradition was completely banned following a particularly bloody battle. From that moment on Castellani and Nicolotti could continue to challenge each other only through less violent games, such as regattas and the so-called forces of Hercules.

Regattas are still organized in Venice and consist of a series of boat races, while the term “forces of Hercules” indicated an impressive acrobatic performance, in which the two factions stood in Piazza San Marco and challenged each other to prove who was capable of building the most imposing human pyramid. The winners were awarded by the Doge himself, this latter being the head of state of the Republic of Venice.

Another sporting event linked in the past to the Venice Carnival was the bull hunt in Campo San Polo. Here a group of men had to contain the fury of a wounded and runaway bull. In reality, it was often not a young and powerful animal, but an old ox destined for slaughter. Despite this, the “game” remained very dangerous for the strong volunteers who decided to confront the animal and the situation became even riskier when the most reckless spectators threw themselves in front of the enraged bull, with the idea of challenging him and dodging his charge at the last minute.

Although Campo San Polo was the place traditionally associated with this game, bull hunting could be organized also in other squares of Venice, for example in Campo Santo Stefano. The last edition of this dangerous spectacle took place here, in 1802, when a stand built specifically to accommodate the large audience collapsed due to panic unleashed by a bull that had escaped the players’ control.

A "recycled" costume (made from garbage bags!)

The arrival of the bull at the chosen location was considered a comedy show. This was because sometimes the poor animal was transported through the city aboard a boat, which swayed in the motion of the waves and thus triggered panic in the brain of the bull, which could also slip and fall into the water. It seems that this was considered a particularly lively spectacle.

Such games, which appear terribly cruel and violent to our sensibilities, attracted in the past not only the attention of the people, but also of great authors and artists, who converged in Venice during the days of Carnival to witness these events and depict them in their works, today kept in museums around the world.

But why did the Venetians appreciate these curious shows so much? Apart from our different sensibility in terms of entertainment, we have to keep in mind that the Carnival games were also a source of income for the citizens of Venice, for whom tourism has always represented a golden opportunity, even if in forms different from those it has taken today. The owners of buildings with terraces were happy to rent them to visitors, so that they could enjoy from above the “show” taking place among the squares and streets of the city.

Furthermore, it is believed that clashes between local factions, such as that of the Nicolotti and the Castellani, were initially promoted by the Republic of Venice itself, for two reasons in particular. First, such battles were thought to be a way to keep citizens “trained” and ready for combat in the event of attacks by enemy forces. Second, the division of the population into groups that were adverse to each other made a massive popular uprising against the authorities less likely.

Entire books could be written about the curious customs of the Venetian Carnival. Do you know other interesting traditions of the Serenissima?