The world-famous carnival of Venice is a place where history and magic meet. The happening in Venice is not comparable with other festivities that bare the same name all over the world. When you think carnival automatically, pictures come into the mind of the festivities in Caribbean countries and especially Brazil. It is also a phenomenon in major Western European cities like in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. However, Venice outclasses them all.
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History
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The Venetian Carnival is one of the most important cultural events in Italy. It lasts twelve days and it astonishes the world with the beauty of the festivities and the exuberant costumes.
The Carnival of Venice started after a military victory of “Repubblica della Serenissima’, the old name of Venice against Ulrico, the old patriarch of Aquileia in 1162, a time wherein the Italy of today was divided into numerous city-states, independent cities and counties.
The spontaneous public feast that erupted on the Saint Marco Square would become from then on a yearly tradition.
Venice already blessed with a lot of traveling artists, magicians, and circuses they also played a major role in the festivities, which makes this carnival so unique.
Liston Delle Mascherfe
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A quite accurate translation for ‘Liston Delle Mascherfe’ is ‘The Masked Trip’ it was the beginning of the festivities for the Carnival of Venice. By a special decree, everyone could wear masks during the festivities. This city walk intended to be a society happening for rich citizens who would hide under richly decorated masks was born.
In the local dialect ‘Liston’ means ‘the Way’, literally a way of masks. The city parts visited were the popular ones where important people walked or worked, it always ended at the magical square of Saint Marco, the only big square of the city embraced by water from almost all sides.
This day was a day for boasting with expensive clothes, jewelry and a status symbol that ended in fancy restaurants or the theater.
The Influence of Pamplona
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Next, to this carnival, there was another tradition influenced from the City of Pamplona: ‘The Bull Run’. This tradition remained alive in Venice from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. Every day there was a corrida except on Fridays. Luckily, for the people there was always the possibility to jump into the water to avoid the raging bulls.
Cultural Event
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Every year there were enormous efforts to renew the carnival with other more spectacular attractions, the costumes became extravagant but also the modern technology made an entrance at the yearly event.
One year there was a real rhinoceros to the joy of the population, later there where magical lanterns and technically moving statues. Every year Venice managed to put itself on the map as innovating, adventurous and mysterious.
Symbol of the Mask
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The wearing of a mask enabled to let go of all social, sexual and cultural restrictions. The anonymity was a guarantee for breaking all the moral laws, especially on religious and civic values. It became a melting pot of all social classes despite social status or financial and political power. The Carnival of Venice acquired the reputation of a symbol of pleasure, where music and alcohol played a major part.
Many of the masks used today are replicas of the authentic ones; they live on in the tradition and the mystic of this wonderful city. Some of those masks are now world famous and priceless, especially the mask that was used in ‘La Commedia dell’Arte’, the famous theatre. It is a magnificent example how a folk tradition became truly high art.
When you watch the Carnival of Venice today, you still get the feeling of traveling back into history. Today’s revelers walk on the same roads as they did in the sixteenth century, they breathe the atmosphere as their predecessors and declare their love on the Rialto Bridge to the Campo Santa Margherita.
During Napoleonic rule, the Emperor outlawed the Carnival, however; it never disappeared from the hearts of its inhabitants and would after the fall of Napoleon, rise as a Fenix from the ashes.
A typical costume was the black cowl and a mask with a Cyrano de Bergerac nose. The streets were a collection of singers, clowns, magicians and artist who conquered the city in an atmosphere of joy, laughter, mysticism, and life.
The Carnival in the 21st Century
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Today the Carnival is again a high-class society event for most Italians and many tourists. It is and stays a strange exposition of fashion decadence and a luxury that is simply mind-blowing. What makes it all so special is the background, the City of Venice is a cultural gem and unique in the whole world. In those surroundings, it is like following in the footsteps of many historical figures like Giacomo Casanova.
The event itself has surpassed itself a long time ago, it is no longer a decadent party, but is now history and a tradition that should be held in the highest honor.
The history is present in the costumes, the old stories, the masks, de decorations and the music, but also in the magical experience of being part of it, as a reveler or as a spectator. It is an indescribable feeling of suddenly being part of a rich history: the Masonic lodge of Venice, the intrigues the love stories and so on. When you enter the Casino of Venice, a simply breathtaking silence falls over you. It is a humbling experience as history talks to you in silence.
If you speak Italian, you hear wonderful stories and your mind floats to courtesans and mysterious monks and mostly to the joy in the faces of the inhabitants. If in Italy try to get a glimpse of this Carnival, I can assure you it will stay in your memory forever, just like the city as a vibrant and enchanting souvenir.