Here are the festivals and events that happen each April in Venice. For news on temporary exhibits, concerts, or other occasional events, visit Martha's Italy Travel Blog.
Early April – Holy Week and Easter. Tourists, rather than locals, tend to crowd Venice around Easter time. But that doesn't mean that you cannot take in some lovely pageants, classical music concerts, and Easter services in Venice during Holy Week. Visitors may also wish to attend mass in Saint Mark's Basilica on Easter. Read more about Easter Traditions in Italy. See also Venice in March.
Mid-April – Culture Week. The Settimana delle Beni Culturali is a week celebrated all over Italy, in which state-run museums and monuments are open for free and, sometimes, for longer hours. Some museums in Venice that participate include the Accademia, the Ca d'Oro, and the Archeological Museum, among many others. The week almost always happens in April, but check the Beniculturali website for definitive dates.
April 25 – Festa di San Marco and Liberation Day. April 25 is a busy day on the Venetian calendar. Saint Mark, Venice's patron saint, is feted on this day with a gondoliers' regatta, with commemorations of the saint at Saint Mark's Basilica, and festivities in Saint Mark's Square. Tradition also holds that the Saint Mark's Day is the day on which men give their wives or girlfriends the "bocolo," the bloom of the red rose. (It is not uncommon for Venetian boys to give a single rosebud to their mothers on April 25.). The day also marks the anniversary that Venice and the rest of Italy was liberated at the end of World War II.