Venice Carnival
Thousands of tourists come to Venice to see and take part in its magnificent Carnival; walking round in fancy dress in this city's magical scenery means taking part in a truly exceptional happening. Those mysterious, disturbing Venetian masks, eyeing you from the city's alleyways are part of what we imagine the Venetian world would have been like 300 years ago. They are an irresistible attraction for what is undoubtedly one of the world's most unique experiences: the re-living of 18th century Venice.
Wearing masks has always been more than just simple fun for the Venetians; it is still a strongly felt tradition with deep cultural roots.
Venetians were famous for being libertines and for transgression - they didn't just use masks 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.
In 1608, the Council of the Ten issued a decree, forbidding any citizen to wear masks except during the Carnival and official banquets. Masks were permitted during all important events, banquets and the main Serenissima celebrations such as Ascension day, or when the Doge climbed on the Bucintoro, or, for the flight of the Colombine when a wooden bird would shower flowers on the crowd. Impoverished nobles used masks to beg in the street and married women were forced to wear them when they went to the theatre.