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The OriginsThe first evidence of the Venice Carnival dates back to 1094. However, the first official celebrations were held in 1296.
In ancient Rome, the biggest celebrations were held in places such as the Colosseumor the Circus Maximus.In the following centuries, with the advent of Christianity, the nobility of the kingdom of Venice decided to establish a period of festivity before Easter, the Carnival.
Since the time of the Romans, therulers deemed necessary toorganise festive days of games anddances in order to make the poorer people happy.
The Origins
The population was free to dress up and impersonate members of the upper classes, even to make fun of them.There were a lot of attractions and shows, some of the major ones have survived to this day.
The merchants sold all kinds of goods,including fruits, spices and imported fabrics from the East as the Kingdom of Venice already operated commercialexchanges with Asia.
In the past, the Carnival used to begin on the first Sunday of October.
Today, the Carnival lasts only ten days.
The MasksBuongiorno Siora Maschera (Good morning, Mrs Mask)
During the carnival, personal identity, gender and social class no longer existed. Venice became a magical place, unique in the world, where anything could happen.
Men wore a disguise called Bauta to conceal their
identity. It consisted of a black cloak and a white mask called Larva (from the Latin
word ghost).
Women wore a mask called moretta. This mask did not
allow the person who wore it to speak. This is because the mask was held in the mouth
with an inner button.
The Larva Mask
The Moretta Mask
“The Rhinoceros” by Pietro Longhi
The Morettamask
The Bautadisguise
The Flight of the AngelIn the mid-sixteenth century, in a particularly magnificent edition of the Carnival, a Turkish boy walked on a rope from the bell tower of San Marco to the Ducal palace, in honour of the Doge. This even was called the Flight of the Angel.
From that moment on, given the great success of the company, the rope crossing of St Mark square became a Carnival tradition. It took place every year on Fat Thursday.
With the fall of the Republic of Venice, this tradition was lost but was reinstituted in 2001. From that moment on, the angel's flight has once again become a traditional feature of the Venetian Carnival.
Famous female artists, the columbine (little dove in Italian) fly down from St Mark’s bell tower, held firmly by a metal cable, gracefully landing in the Ducal palace.
The Flight of the Angel
Doge’sPalace
St Mark’sBell Tower
Photo courtesy of ([email protected]) - granted under creative commons licence
