The
earliest information regarding the venice Carnival is
to be found in State laws, in private papers or in accounts
of festivities, documents which mention it by referring
to the Christian interpretation of the Latin term carrus
navalis, processional floats in the form of a ship, used
in Rome during the purification and exorcism rites which
were celebrated in February, the last month of the Roman
calendar.
In this climate of festivity the mask was the only possibility,
in a society of social barriers, for everyone to be considered
equal. The most common disguise in venice in XVIII century
was the bauta which consisted of the larva (a mask which
was initially black, then of white oilcloth), of the bauta
in the strict sense of the word with lace and veil, of
the tricorno (a black three-cornered hat) and of the black
tabarro (a silk or woollen cloak).
In 1979 some citizens' associations, backed by the city's
enthusiasm and participation, breathed back life into
a virtually neglected tradition. Since then, firstly the
Municipal Authorities and then the Carnival Committee
have organised and promoted the Carnival events which
take place in venice and on the mainland during the ten
days preceding Ash Wednesday.
In
1296 Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras was declared a holiday
by the Senate. In venice the Carnival embraced quite
a long period of time, with a foretaste at the beginning
of October to coincide with the opening of the theatres.
The Carnival true and proper began on Boxing Day (December
26) when the Government gave permission to wear a
mask. The festivities reached their peak on Carnival
Thursday and ended the day before Ash Wednesday.
From
the middle of the XV to the end of the XVI century
the organisation of the Carnival festivities was delegated
to the Compagnie di Calze, associations of young nobles
distinguished by variously coloured patterned hose.Carnival
meant performances in theatres, in palazzi, in coffee-shops
and in small playhouses, but above all it meant a
climate of widespread festivity in which ordinary
people and nobles, all wearing masks, mingled with
dancers and jugglers, with vendors of balsams and
cooked apple, with commedia dell'arte actors and snake
charmers
There
were numerous rites and ceremonies initially of
pagan origin which were then transformed in the
celebration of the power and grandeur of the Serenissima.
War could be identified in the Macchina dei Fuochi
(Fire Machine), the Venetians' dexterity in storming
the walls of Aquileia in the Forze d'Ercole (Human
Pyramids), battle in the Ballo della Moresca (Moorish
Dance), justice in the Taglio della testa al toro
(Decapitating the Bull) and peace in the Volo dell'Angelo
(Flight of the Angel).
The
other culminating moments include the water procession,
with festively decorated boats and masked rowers,
which concludes with fireworks against the evocative
backdrop of the Cannaregio Canal, the flight of
the dove which marks the beginning of Carnival,
and the final grand ball on Shrove Tuesday in St.
Mark's Square.
In
1296 Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras was declared a holiday
by the Senate. In venice the Carnival embraced quite
a long period of time, with a foretaste at the beginning
of October to coincide with the opening of the theatres.
The Carnival true and proper began on Boxing Day (December
26) when the Government gave permission to wear a
mask. The festivities reached their peak on Carnival
Thursday and ended the day before Ash Wednesday.
From
the middle of the XV to the end of the XVI century
the organisation of the Carnival festivities was delegated
to the Compagnie di Calze, associations of young nobles
distinguished by variously coloured patterned hose.Carnival
meant performances in theatres, in palazzi, in coffee-shops
and in small playhouses, but above all it meant a
climate of widespread festivity in which ordinary
people and nobles, all wearing masks, mingled with
dancers and jugglers, with vendors of balsams and
cooked apple, with commedia dell'arte actors and snake
charmers
