Some 70,000 revellers, many wearing elaborate costumes and masks, thronged Venice\'s St Mark\'s Square on Sunday to watch the traditional \"flight of the angel,\" a highlight of the annual Carnival. Marta Finotto, a 20-year-old Venetian student, had the honour of performing the stunt, gliding on a harness from the 99-metre (325-foot) belltower of Saint Mark\'s Basilica to a stage below, wearing a black top hat and a red gown with matching boots.The centuries-old Venice Carnival, rooted in Christian festivities ahead of the fasting period of Lent, attracts hordes of foreign and Italian tourists to its masked balls and theatrical performances. Nadia, a visitor in her 40s from the northeastern Italian town of Biella, said the revelry helps people to forget Italy\'s financial crisis, at least for a while. \"Once a year we forget everything, we have fun, otherwise life has no meaning,\" she told AFP-TV. The event, which began on January 26, winds up on February 12.