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.
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.
There was also a series of masks for different special occasions: one of these was the 'moretta': a black velvet oval, normally worn by women, especially when they visited convents. This was a "mute" mask: it was placed over the face and had a small button that went into the mouth to prevent speech.
The craftsmen who made masks were called 'mascareri' and had the status of painters. They were assisted by the 'targheri', who painted faces of all different kinds on the plastered surface.
Even today, while walking round Venice you come across craft shops renewing this ancient tradition.
Reaching its maximum splendour in the 18th century, the Carnival returned to new life in the 1980s and nowadays lasts a month with shows, balls, music and plays organized all over the city. The event attracts up to a million visitors a year, all competing to show off their magnificent and often very expensive costumes.
Amidst the Carnival's fairy atmosphere, Venice goes back to becoming t magic 18th century city where, as if dreaming, you could meet Giacomo Casanova, take a gondola with Carlo Goldoni, or surprise a noblewomen meeting her lover.
And Venice could even reserve us yet another honour: we could see the Doge in person walking along just a few steps away from us