THE CARNIVAL OF VENICE
Carnival Venice is one of the best known and most popular carnivals in the world
Its origins are very ancient: the first evidence dates back to a document of Doge Vitale Falier of 1094, which speaks of public amusements, and in which the word carnival is said to the first time. The establishment of the Carnival by the Venetian oligarchy is generally attributed to the need of the Serenissima, like what has already happened in ancient Rome, to give to the people, and especially the lower classes, a short time entirely devoted to the fun and festivities, during which the Venetians and foreigners were pouring in the whole city to celebrate with music and wild dancing.
Through the anonymity guaranteed by masks and costumes, you get a sort of leveling of all social divisions and was approved even mockery of the public authorities and the aristocracy. Clearly, these concessions were widely tolerated and regarded as a providential outburst of the tensions and resentments that inevitably created within the Republic of Venice, which placed strict limits on issues such as morality and public order of its citizens.
wearing masks and costumes was possible to completely conceal their identity and thus clears all forms of personnel belonging to social class, gender, religion. Everyone could adopt attitudes and behaviors based on new costumes and the changing appearance. For this reason, the greeting that sounded continually in the act of crossing a new "character" was merely Hello lady mask
With the increasingly widespread practice of costumes for the Carnival in Venice came from nothing and gradually developed a real trade maschere e costumi. A partire dal 1271, vi sono notizie di produzione di maschere, scuole e tecniche per la loro realizzazione. Cominciarono ad essere prodotti gli strumenti per la lavorazione specifica dei materiali quali argilla, cartapesta, gesso e garza. Dopo la fase di fabbricazione dei modelli, si terminava l’opera colorandola e arricchendola di particolari come disegni, ricami, perline, piumaggi e quant’altro. I cosiddetti mascareri, che divennero veri e propri artigiani realizzando maschere di fogge e fatture sempre più ricche e sofisticate, vennero riconosciuti ufficialmente come mestiere con uno statuto del 10 aprile 1436, conservato nell’Archivio di Stato di Venezia
Uno dei travestimenti più comuni nel Carnevale old, especially since the eighteenth century, remained popular and worn even in the modern Carnival is certainly the Bauta (pronounced with the accent on u). This figure, in typical Venetian style and worn by both men and women, consists of a special mask called white larva under a black tricorn hat and complemented by an enveloping robe called a dark cloak. The bauta was used extensively during the period of Carnival, but also to the theater, in other parties, in meetings gallant and whenever you want the freedom to woo or be wooed, grant each other the total anonymity. To this end, the particular shape of the face mask ensured the possibility of drink and eat without having to remove
Another typical dress of those times was the Gnaga, simply dressed as a woman for men, easy to make and use fairly common. It consisted of women's clothing in common use and a mask with the likeness of cats, accompanied by a basket on his arm which usually contained a kitten. The character is posing as a commoner little woman, uttering shrill sounds mocking and meows. Sometimes he played the guise of mercy, accompanied by other men in turn dressed as children
Many women however, wore a disguise called Moretta, consisting of a small mask of black velvet, worn with a soft hat and clothing and velature raffinate. La Moretta era un travestimento muto, poiché la maschera doveva reggersi sul volto tenendo in bocca un bottone interno (e per questo motivo chiamata anche servetta muta).
Durante il Carnevale le attività e gli affari dei veneziani passavano in secondo piano, ed essi concedevano molto del loro tempo a festeggiamenti, burle, divertimenti e spettacoli che venivano allestiti in tutta la città, soprattutto in Piazza San Marco, lungo la Riva degli Schiavoni e in tutti i maggiori campi di Venezia
