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Venice Carnival Masks
Also see:
Venice Carnival

Carnival
masks
are the hallmark of il Carnevale di Venezia. Venice's Carnival began in the 11th
Century, and the wearing of masks and costumes was well established by 1436, when
maskmakers or mascareri were officially recognized with their own guild.
The practice of wearing masks for disguise
reached its zenith in the 18th Century, when Venetians of different social classes used
Carnival as an excuse to mingle and, in some cases, to trade sexual favors without fear of
recognition or retribution. (With a mask, a silk hood, a tabarro cape and a
tricorn hat, a housewife in search of hanky-panky was indistinguishable from a nobleman on
the prowl.)
Masks virtually disappeared--along with Carnevale--when Napoleon's
troops brought an end to the Venetian Republic in 1797. However, they've staged a
spectacular comeback since a group of former Academy of Fine Arts students opened Venice's
first modern mask shop in 1978.
Venice Carnival masks fall into several
categories:
-
Commedia dell'Arte masks are based
on traditional characters like Harlequin and Pierrot.
-
Fantasy masks are figments of the
maskmaker's imagination, although they may be inspired by historical designs.
-
Traditional Venetian masks such as
the white volto half-mask with nose cover and its variant, the "plague
doctor's" mask with its phallic beak. (According to tradition, the beak was intended
to protect the wearer from being infected by the plague.)
Next page:
Where to buy Carnival masks in Venice
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