THE CARNIVAL OF VENICE

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THE CARNIVAL OF VENICE
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The Carnival of Venice is one of the most
ancient and charming venetian feasts. Rooted in
the history and tradition of Venice, the Carnival
is the most famous feast of Venice and it's
considered by venetians and its hundreds of
thousands of guests as an event not to be missed!
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During the ten days of Carnival leading up to
Mardi Gras, Venice is a hive of activity and
entertainment, from improvised street
entertainment to performances put on by the
organisers. 
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Saint Mark's Square remains the heart of
Carnival, with its huge stage, although other
events take place throughout the city, helping to
avoid an excessive build-up of people in
pedestrianised Venice.
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The use of masks
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• Masks have always been a central feature of the
  Venetian carnival traditionally people were
  allowed to wear them between the festival of
  Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's Day, December 26) at
  the start of the carnival season and midnight of
  Shrove Tuesday.

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•  Venetians were famous for being libertines and
  for transgression - they didn't use masks just
  during the official Carnival. Putting on a mask
  in Venice meant taking forbidden liberties you
  could jibe at the powerful, gamble without being
  caught, take risks over love or business deals
  and even enter convents without being seen. A
  numbers of restrictive laws passed on dressing up
  prove how widespread the habit was. The Carnival
  itself, meant letting-go and abandoning oneself
  to play freedom, transgression and good-willed
  madness. Palaces opened their courtyards to
  celebrations and there was music and dancing all
  day and all night in the alleyways, small squares
  and even on the water. Venice was alive with
  sound and colour.

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• The most widely used mask, for which Venetians
  would spend absolute fortunes, was the 'bauta'
  it was an ample full-cut black mantle which
  dropped over the shoulders down to the waist. On
  their heads they wore the typical black,
  three-cornered hat (the tricorno), and on their
  faces a white mask called 'larva', with a
  widened, protruding lip that altered their
  voices. The bauta was used by both men and women
  who wore it in black in winter and white in
  summer.

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THE END!!