# February in Italy: Carnival and the cold months

> Venice Carnival is a movable feast that ends on Shrove Tuesday, 47 days before Easter, and Venice averages 41.0°F in February on the 1991-2020 normals.

URL: https://myitalia.it/plan/february-in-italy
Last updated: 2026-09-02

Venice Carnival has no fixed date: it runs through the days before Lent and closes on Shrove Tuesday, 47 days before Easter, which is why the same week is empty one year and full the next.

## The date moves, and it moves a long way

Carnival is anchored to Shrove Tuesday, Martedi Grasso, which is 47 days before Easter. Easter itself is movable, so the Venice event can sit in the first half of February one year and cross into March the next.

The modern edition is organized by the Comune di Venezia together with city associations. The next edition's dates are not verified on a primary source here, and a page that guesses them is worse than a page that says so, so check the city's own channel before booking a February hotel in Venice.

## 1094, 1296, 1797, 1979

Four dates carry the history. The first documentary mention is 1094, under doge Vitale Falier; a Senate decree of 1296 turned it into an official public festival; it ended in 1797 with the Republic; it was revived in its modern form in 1979.

The 182 years in the middle are the part that surprises people. What you attend today is a late twentieth century revival of a medieval institution, not an unbroken line, and knowing that changes what you look for in it.

## 41.0°F, and the lagoon does not warm the afternoon much

Venice averages 41.0°F (5.0°C) in February on the 1991-2020 normals from the Marco Polo airport station, with a mean daily maximum of 48.7°F (9.3°C) and a mean minimum of 33.6°F (0.9°C). January is the cold floor at 38.7°F (3.7°C).

The sea keeps the nights above the Milan pattern and takes the edge off the afternoons too. What it does not do is make February mild. Wind across open water at 48°F is the thing that ends an afternoon early.

## Rain: 56.5 mm, spread thin

February averages 56.5 mm of rain in Venice, between the January minimum of 40.2 mm and the May maximum of 80.2 mm. Across the year the city takes 762.3 mm, the most evenly distributed of the Italian cities in this series.

Evenly distributed means few dramatic months and few dry ones. Plan for showers rather than for a washout, and keep the acqua alta question separate: high water is a tide question, not a rainfall one.

## What the low season is actually good for

February is the month when the interiors are reachable. Queues at museums and churches are shorter than at any other point of the year outside January, restaurant tables exist without a booking, and the light on the water at 4:00 pm is the reason photographers come now.

The exception is Carnival week in Venice, which prices and fills like August. If your dates are flexible, the fortnight either side of it is the same city at a third of the pressure.

## FAQ

### When is Carnival in Venice?

It has no fixed date. Carnival occupies the days before Lent and closes on Shrove Tuesday, which falls 47 days before Easter, so it moves every year. The modern event is organized by the Comune di Venezia with city associations; the next edition's dates are not verified here.

### How old is the Venice Carnival?

The first documentary trace is from 1094, under doge Vitale Falier, and a Senate decree of 1296 made it an official public festival. It stopped in 1797 with the fall of the Republic and was revived in its modern form in 1979.

### How cold does Venice get in February?

Venice averages 41.0°F (5.0°C) in February on the 1991-2020 normals, with a mean daily high of 48.7°F (9.3°C) and a mean low of 33.6°F (0.9°C). January is colder still, at 38.7°F (3.7°C) mean, the coldest month of the year there.

### Does it rain a lot in Venice in February?

February averages 56.5 mm of rain, above the January low of 40.2 mm and well under the May peak of 80.2 mm. Venice has the most evenly spread rainfall of the Italian cities in the 1991-2020 series, at 762.3 mm across the year.

### Is February a cheap month to visit Italy?

It is the low season everywhere except Venice during Carnival, which is its own market. Venice tourist tax drops 30 percent in January and returns to full rate from February 1, which is a useful signal of where the city thinks its season starts.

### What can I actually do in Italy in February?

Cities, interiors and food. With mean daily highs of 48.7°F (9.3°C) in Venice, the month rewards museums, churches, markets and long lunches over hill walks and coastlines. The Carnival dates are the one fixed reason to accept a crowd.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il Carnevale di Venezia e' una festa a data mobile che si svolge nei giorni che precedono la Quaresima e si chiude il Martedi' Grasso; l'edizione moderna e' organizzata dal Comune di Venezia insieme ad associazioni cittadine. | [Comune di Venezia - Venezia1600](https://1600.venezia.it/it/articolo/carnevale-venezia-storia-una-tradizione-millenaria-che-ha-reso-citta-lagunare-famosa-tutto) | medium | 2099-12-31 |
| Il Carnevale di Venezia ha una prima attestazione documentale nel 1094 sotto il doge Vitale Falier e diventa festa pubblica ufficiale con un decreto del Senato del 1296; si interrompe nel 1797 con la caduta della Repubblica e rinasce in forma moderna nel 1979. | [Comune di Venezia - Venezia1600](https://1600.venezia.it/it/articolo/carnevale-venezia-storia-una-tradizione-millenaria-che-ha-reso-citta-lagunare-famosa-tutto) | medium | 2099-12-31 |
| Venezia: normali climatiche 1991-2020 della stazione Venezia Tessera (aeroporto Marco Polo) (2 m s.l.m.). Temperatura media annua 13.9 °C; mese piu' freddo gen (3.7 °C di media), mese piu' caldo lug (24.4 °C di media). | [WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 - serie trasmessa dall'Italia (stazioni del Servizio Meteorologico dell'Aeronautica Militare), archivio NOAA NCEI accession 0253808](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/Venezia_Tessera_16105.csv); [ISPRA - Sezione Climatologia Operativa, applicazione 'Valori climatici normali'](https://valori-climatici-normali.isprambiente.it/) | high | 2032-12-31 |
| Venezia Tessera, normali 1991-2020: 762,3 mm di precipitazione annua, il valore piu' regolarmente distribuito fra le citta' considerate; massimo a maggio (80,2 mm), minimo a gennaio (40,2 mm). | [WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 - serie trasmessa dall'Italia (stazioni del Servizio Meteorologico dell'Aeronautica Militare), archivio NOAA NCEI accession 0253808](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/Venezia_Tessera_16105.csv) | medium | 2032-12-31 |
| A Venezia l'imposta di soggiorno e' articolata per zona, stagione, tipologia e classificazione della struttura: nel centro storico in alta stagione (1 febbraio - 31 dicembre) va da 1,00 euro a persona per notte per gli alberghi a 1 stella a 5,00 euro per gli alberghi a 5 stelle, si applica per un massimo di 5 pernottamenti consecutivi e in bassa stagione (gennaio) le tariffe base sono ridotte del 30% (tariffe valide dal 1 aprile 2025). | [Comune di Venezia - Settore Tributi](https://www.comune.venezia.it/sites/comune.venezia.it/files/documenti/Tributi/ids/TARIFFE%20IDS%20-%20STRUTTURE%20con%20classificazione%20L.R.%2011_2013_valide%20dal%2001.04.2025.pdf); [Comune di Venezia](https://www.comune.venezia.it/it/content/tariffe-ids-dal-19052020) | high | 2027-04-30 |

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