<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe tradition of the mask started in the 13th century when Venetians would hold celebrations and parties from December 26th until the start of Lent and wear elaborate masks to conceal their identity. These parties were the only time when the lower and upper classes mingled together. Aristocrats and peasants, disguised by their masks, played out their fantasies together. They indulged in illicit activities like gambling, clandestine affairs, political assassination, and dancing and partying the night away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The origin of the word Carnival of Venice is traced back to the Middle Ages. It appears for the first time in a document of the Doge Vitale Falier in 1904, where it\u2019s used to talk about public entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The carnival tradition has very distant roots, already the ancient ‘Satur’ in Roman times identified a period of the year in which a joyful collective rite was allowed, almost encouraged, with which the rigid order between social classes, between the sexes, was subverted, religions and established hierarchies.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe word Carnevale \u201cCARNEM LEVARE\u201d is derived from the Latin word \u00abeliminate meat\u00bb referring to the day after the revelry of ‘Mardi Gras’, in which the period of Lent began with abstinence and fasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Venice, the first document that officially called the carnival a \u00abpublic holiday\u00bb was an order of the Senate of Serenissima in 1296, but since 1271, we have news about workshops for the production of masks and related construction but It\u2019s in the eighteenth century that the Carnival of Venice reaches its greatest splendor, acquiring international resonance throughout Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>The Masks and costumes<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere are about 10 different types of Venetian masks. The most traditional mask is the Bauta style. Bauta appears in white and is a mask that was used throughout the whole year by people who wished to continue to hide their identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the symbolic masks of Carnival is the Bauta, a disguise used exclusively in Venice, consisting of a black cloak or tabard, a black tricorn on a white face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carnival still remains popular in Italy although the infiltration of modern icons and influences from abroad, such as comic book cartoon heroes, has meant that many historical masks of the past are seen less and less. However, there are those which are so popular that the tradition of wearing them will surely remain with us for many years to come. From North to South, every region of Italy has its own representative mask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They have been drawn from the main characters in the ‘commedia dell’arte’ from the 1500’s until the literary comedies of the 1700’s. They survived as puppet characters and return each year during Carnival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>The Stories Behind Italian Carnival Masks<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Bauta<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nConsidered to be the traditional Venetian mask, bauta comes from the German \u201cbeh\u00fcten<\/i>\u201c, meaning to protect. It is always white and used to mostly cover the facial features. It is always worn with the black hat with three tips (tricorno).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Arlecchino<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThis astute and mischievous character was originally associated with demons. His name comes from the German H\u00f6llenk\u00f6nig <\/em>(King of Hell), which transformed first into Helleking<\/em> and finally Harlequin. His costume is composed of differently colored patches and rags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Dottor Balanzone<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe doctor is a typical azzeccagarbugli<\/em> (unscrupulous lawyer) who speaks a refined language full of Latin words. Balanzone comes from the word balanza<\/em> (bilancia<\/em> in Italian and \u201cscale\u201d in English), a symbol of justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Pulcinella<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nPulcinella represents irony and insolence. He\u2019s resourceful and always finds a way to outsmart people in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Colombina<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nColombina (\u201clittle dove\u201d in Italian) is Arlecchino\u2019s girlfriend and the archetype of the smart, sassy servant. She is very devoted to her lady Rosaura and often helps her with her love intrigues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Pantalone<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nPantalone is a rich and greedy merchant. He wears red tights (calzamaglia<\/em> in Italian), a black cape and a money purse full of golden coins. Tight trousers, called pantaloni<\/em> after this character, were very popular among the Venetian working class in the 16th century, and are the source of the English word \u201cpants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Brighella<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nBrighella is a shrewd and cunning character and the best friend of Arlecchino. He\u2019s a skilled liar, perfectly represented by his name, which comes from\u00a0briga<\/em>\u00a0(meaning \u201ctrouble,\u201d or \u201cdispute\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Carnevale di Venezia is one of the most famous carnivals around the world, and it\u2019s famous for its intricate Venetian Masks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"
The Origin Of the Venice Carnival Masks<\/h1>\nThe\u00a0Carnevale di Venezia is one of the most famous carnivals around the world, and it\u2019s famous for its intricate Venetian Masks.\u00a0It is not a surprise that every carnival, regardless of its country origin or other characteristics, is traditionally associated with Venetian carnival masks. In the festival, these masks are part of elaborate costumes that evoke feelings of pomp, elegance, and even a bit of magic.\n\nThe mask, as a primary symbol of a carnival, has an interesting history linked to old Venice traditions. Discover the most important facts about the history of the Venice mask.\nThe origin<\/h2>\nThe tradition of the mask started in the 13th century when Venetians would hold celebrations and parties from December 26th until the start of Lent and wear elaborate masks to conceal their identity. These parties were the only time when the lower and upper classes mingled together. Aristocrats and peasants, disguised by their masks, played out their fantasies together. They indulged in illicit activities like gambling, clandestine affairs, political assassination, and dancing and partying the night away.\n\nThe origin of the word Carnival of Venice is traced back to the Middle Ages. It appears for the first time in a document of the Doge Vitale Falier in 1904, where it\u2019s used to talk about public entertainment.\n\nThe carnival tradition has very distant roots, already the ancient 'Satur' in Roman times identified a period of the year in which a joyful collective rite was allowed, almost encouraged, with which the rigid order between social classes, between the sexes, was subverted, religions and established hierarchies.\n\nThe Masks and costumes<\/h2>\nThere are about 10 different types of Venetian masks. The most traditional mask is the Bauta style. Bauta appears in white and is a mask that was used throughout the whole year by people who wished to continue to hide their identity.\n\nAmong the symbolic masks of Carnival is the Bauta, a disguise used exclusively in Venice, consisting of a black cloak or tabard, a black tricorn on a white face.\n\nCarnival still remains popular in Italy\u00a0although the infiltration of modern icons and influences from abroad, such as comic book cartoon heroes, has meant that many historical masks of the past are seen less and less.\u00a0However, there are those which are so popular that the tradition of wearing them will surely remain with us for many years to come. From North to South, every region of Italy has its own representative mask.\n\nThey have been drawn from the\u00a0main characters in the 'commedia dell'arte'\u00a0from the 1500's until the literary comedies of the 1700's. They survived as puppet characters and return each year during Carnival.\nThe Stories Behind Italian Carnival Masks<\/h2>\nBauta<\/h3>\nConsidered to be the traditional Venetian mask, bauta comes from the German \u201cbeh\u00fcten<\/i>\u201c, meaning to protect. It is always white and used to mostly cover the facial features. It is always worn with the black hat with three tips (tricorno).\nArlecchino<\/h3>\nThis astute and mischievous character was originally associated with demons. His name comes from the German\u00a0H\u00f6llenk\u00f6nig\u00a0<\/em>(King of Hell), which transformed first into\u00a0Helleking<\/em>\u00a0and finally Harlequin. His costume is composed of differently colored patches and rags.\nDottor Balanzone<\/h3>\nThe doctor is a typical\u00a0azzeccagarbugli<\/em>\u00a0(unscrupulous lawyer) who speaks a refined language full of Latin words. Balanzone comes from the word\u00a0balanza<\/em>\u00a0(bilancia<\/em>\u00a0in Italian and \u201cscale\u201d in English), a symbol of justice.\nPulcinella<\/h3>\nPulcinella represents irony and insolence. He\u2019s resourceful and always finds a way to outsmart people in power.\nColombina<\/h3>\nColombina (\u201clittle dove\u201d in Italian) is Arlecchino\u2019s girlfriend and the archetype of the smart, sassy servant. She is very devoted to her lady Rosaura and often helps her with her love intrigues.\nPantalone<\/h3>\nPantalone is a rich and greedy merchant. He wears red tights (calzamaglia<\/em>\u00a0in Italian), a black cape and a money purse full of golden coins. Tight trousers, called\u00a0pantaloni<\/em>\u00a0after this character, were very popular among the Venetian working class in the 16th century, and are the source of the English word \u201cpants.\u201d\nBrighella<\/h3>\nBrighella is a shrewd and cunning character and the best friend of Arlecchino. He\u2019s a skilled liar, perfectly represented by his name, which comes from\u00a0briga<\/em>\u00a0(meaning \u201ctrouble,\u201d or \u201cdispute\u201d).\nMost Popular Stories<\/h2>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8124"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21745,"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8124\/revisions\/21745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danteinlinea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}