Canaletto's 'A Regatta on the Grand Canal' of about 1740,

because who could resist this vast expanse of sky,

the twinkling water, and all the gorgeous Venetian architecture. What's more, this looks

to me like a really fun day to be visiting Venice. The scene we are looking at takes

place during the annual carnival regatta. Venice has long been celebrated for its carnival

antics, and you can see that some of the spectators are wearing the traditional carnival outfit

of the white mask and black cape. What we're looking at here is a race of light, one-oared

gondolas making their way up the Grand Canal. You can see them making their way up the centre

of the picture. But in a way, these competitors and their tiny crafts get rather overshadowed

by all the pomp and celebration and festivity going on around them. We can see enormous,

elaborately decorated gondolas, complete with cherubs, gods, and palm fronds. Every window

seems to have a flag hanging from it, and people peering out desperate to see the race

going on below. So to me this seems like a great time to be visiting Venice, to be out

on the water, in a carnival costume, and if it all gets too much you can just lie back

and watch the fun from your own private gondola.