Carnival of Venice (Cultural Documentation)
Gilchrist, Scott
Download9A2-I-V-VC-A03_cp.jpg (543.6Kb)
Alternative Title
Carnevale di Venezia
Date
2008Description
Row of full (left) and half masks (right) with feathers for sale at street vendor's stall; The Carnival of Venice (Italian: Carnevale di Venezia) is an annual festival, held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival ends with Lent, forty days before Easter on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Martedì Grasso), the day before Ash Wednesday. Masks have always been a main feature of the Venetian carnival. Traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's Day, December 26) and the start of the carnival season at midnight of Shrove Tuesday. As masks were also allowed on Ascension and from October 5 to Christmas, people could spend a large portion of the year in disguise. Maskmakers (mascherari) enjoyed a special position in society, with their own laws and their own guild. After a long absence (outlawed in 1797), the Carnival returned to operate in 1979. The Italian government decided to bring back the history and culture of Venice, and sought to use the traditional Carnival as the centerpiece of its efforts. The redevelopment of the masks began as the pursuit of some Venetian college students for the tourist trade. Today, approximately 3 million visitors come to Venice every year for Carnival. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 8/1/2013)
Type of Work
photographSubject
contemporary (1960 to present), recreation and games, festivals, Carnival masks, Venetian, tourists, Twenty-first century
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only