The Carnival of
Venice (Italian: Carnevale di Venezia) is an
annual festival, held in Venice, Italy. The
Carnival starts around two weeks before Ash
Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday (Fat
Tuesday or Mardi Gras), the day before Ash
Wednesday.
Carnival started as a time for celebration and
expression throughout the classes, as wearing
masks hid any form of identity between social
classes. During the 1970s, the Italian
government decided to bring back the history and
culture of Venice, and sought to use the
traditional Carnival as the centerpiece of their
efforts. Today, approximately 30,000 visitors
come to Venice each day for Carnivals.
Masks have always been a central feature of the
Venetian carnival; traditionally people were
allowed to wear them between the festival of
Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's Day, December 26)
and the start of the carnival season and
midnight of Shrove Tuesday. They have always
been around Venice. As masks were also allowed
Ascension and from October 5 to Christmas,
people could spend a large proportion of the
year in disguise . Maskmakers (mascherari)
enjoyed a special position in society, with
their own laws and their own guild.
Venetian masks can be made in leather or with
the original glass technique. The original masks
were rather simple in design and decoration and
often had a symbolic and practical function.
Nowadays, most of them are made with the
application of gesso and gold leaf and are all
hand-painted using natural feathers and gems to
decorate.
Click over the pictures to enlarge them
Ca' Venezia - Jesolo Lido : Monica Da Venezia,
Winter Address: Via A. Da Corona, 1/L - 31100 /
Treviso - ITALY
Summer Address : Via Rossini, 7 -
30016 / Jesolo Lido / Venezia - ITALY
