The history and origins of the Venice Carnival are topics that cause much fascination and enthusiasm. A look at it lets us know when and how this extraordinary event was born, how masks and costumes have evolved over time, what curious anecdotes and historical facts have characterized the Carnevale di Venezia…

The Carnival is one of the most important events in the Veneto region, and is probably the most important and famous festival in Venice. Attracting tourists from all over the world to the lagoon city, every year the Carnival transforms the city into a potpourri of festivity and fun, accompanied by a series of entertainment, gastronomic and musical events.

The origin of the Venice Carnival

The historical origins of the Venice Carnival lie in two ancient traditions: the Latin Saturnalia and the Greek Dionysian cults. These were two religious festivals in which masks and symbolic representations played a major role.

The origins and meaning of the Carnival of Venice were inspired by these traditions, which they transformed for their own purposes. At the Saturnalia in ancient Rome, the social order was overturned and slaves and free citizens flocked to the city to celebrate with loud music and wild dancing. At the Greek Dionysia, processions and theatrical performances were meant to unite people with nature and create a harmony of higher order, free from man-made social conventions.

Literature about Venice

Reading books about Venice can enhance your experience of visiting the city in many ways:

• They help to better understand the historical and cultural context. Venice has a very exciting and rich history as well as culture, and reading books can provide this context and help you understand the city’s art, architecture and traditions.
• While the major tourist attractions in Venice are well known, there are also many hidden gems that you can discover by reading books.
• The lagoon city has also been the setting for many famous literary works, including Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice. Reading these works can deepen your connection to the city and give you new insights into its culture and history.

Overall, reading books about Venice can lead to a better understanding and appreciation of the city, so you can have a more fulfilling and enjoyable visit.

Venice therefore reinterpreted the ancient Greek and Roman festivals to meet the needs of the new order of the time, which promoted carnival to provide the population, especially the lower classes, with a way to have fun and celebrate. In the Venetian carnival, masks guaranteed complete anonymity, a kind of leveling of social differences that sometimes even allowed citizens to publicly mock the administration and the aristocracy.

This generous and entertaining permission was an outlet for the tensions and discord that arose in society due to the strict limits, basic Christian morality and public order.

The origin of the word carnival can be traced back to a document by Doge Vitale Falier in 1094, where it is used for the first time when referring to public entertainment.

However, the history of Carnival in Venice as an official holiday began only in 1296, when an edict of the Senate of the Republic declared the day a holiday before the beginning of Lent. For many centuries, Carnival in Venice was celebrated for six weeks, from December 26 to Ash Wednesday, in the city’s main squares, the Riva degli Schiavoni and St. Mark’s Square.

The excesses and licentiousness of the Carnival of Venice

But soon the original purpose of the carnival and the very purpose of the festival, to reduce tensions and discontent, had escalated to achieve the opposite effect. The possibility of completely disguising one’s identity under typical Venetian masks and fancy costumes encouraged more and more thefts, robberies and harassment of various kinds. These serious excesses forced the Venetian Municipality to issue a long series of decrees to limit the abuse and fraudulent use of masks and costumes in the lagoon city; measures that gradually undermined the very essence of Carnival and its origins of freedom and equality.

The worst time was after sunset, when darkness and disguise made crimes of all kinds possible. In 1339 it was forbidden to move around Venice at night wearing masks and carnival costumes. Another abuse that had to be curbed concerned the possibility for men to wear women’s or religious clothing to break into churches, convents or monasteries and commit indecent acts. In January 1458, it was forbidden to enter holy places wearing masks. Because of the dangers to public safety of concealing weapons or other dangerous objects under carnival clothing, numerous official decrees were issued prohibiting the carrying of such dangerous objects.

In the 18th century, the Venice Carnival became a real cultural event and was known throughout Europe. The prestigious Venice Carnival, which attracts thousands of visitors every year, reached its greatest splendor and international recognition at that time: the effervescent and transgressive atmosphere, the commedia dell’arte and the masks, extraordinary shows and the public casino made Venice the “magnet of Europe”.

No more fun: The end of the Venetian fun society

With the fall of the Serenissima in 1797, carnival costumes were definitively banned, with the exception of private celebrations in Venetian palaces and the exclusive and elite Ballo della Cavalchina at the luxurious La Fenice theater. This dealt a severe blow to the Venetian Carnival, and a long period of decline followed, leading to the gradual extinction of all associated festivities. The last historical carnival in Venice dates back to this year (1797). The conquest of Venice by Napoleon meant the end of her long independence and the abolition of the countless traditions, including the Venetian Carnival, for about two centuries.

Today’s Carnival of Venice

It was not until 1967 that celebrations were again organized with masquerade and costume parades that revived the history and traditions of the Venice Carnival. In 1979, for the first time, a program was created that involved the Venetians themselves in the celebrations, returning to the origins of the Venice Carnival. The new formula became a success that has now lasted for over forty years.

For more on this year’s Carnival of Venice 2022, click here.

The official website of the Venice Carnival is: https://www.carnevale.venezia.it/en.

The Feast of Mary – The Festa delle Marie in Venice

The Festa delle Marie in Venice has become one of the most important events of the Venetian Carnival: it stages the famous kidnapping as well as the subsequent rescue of twelve brides that happened in Venice at the time of Doge Candiano III in 943.

In 1999, when the Festa delle Marie coincided with the Carnival season, the European Consortium of Historical Reenactments (C.E.R.S.) organized the Feast of St. Mary in St. Mark’s Square with the aim of re-enacting this traditional and very special festival. Since then, the Feast of Marys has been repeated every year during Carnival, with the award ceremony on the last day of the event for the Mary of the Year.

You can learn more about the origin of the Marian festival here.

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This article was first published on salvati.photography.