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The Venetian Carnival originates from an ancient line of celebrations. Originally a pagan festival to celebrate the passing from winter to spring, the carnival later became linked to the religious calendar and Lent. In an effort to let loose before the time of restraint and pondering of the 40 days in the run up to Easter, Christian communities adopted the pagan revelries to serve their faith.

But was it simply a way to say goodbye to the banqueting and gluttonous exaggerations of the Christmas festivities? Carnevale is believed to originate form the latin Carne Vale, literally, goodbye (vale) to meat (carne). However, a school of thought believes that Carnevale had a much more literal meaning. If one takes Carnevale’s etymology to originate from Italian vulgaris, and also Venetian dialect, as opposed to latin, the meaning of the word is subverted into a phrase which largely means “meat fest”.

 "Allegoria di Carnevale" - engraving

The moral fabric of the republic was at times sketchy, at best, and this became increasingly obvious when citizens concealed their identities behind masks. The carnival festivities were often punctuated by murders, theft, loss of virtue and gambling, but especially sex.

  Pietro Bertelli: "Magnifico e Cortigiana" - engraving (1642)

Anonimity and disguise heighten one’s sense of infallibility and lower inhibitions. In the carnival period, the strict social rules, hierarchy, class and ethnicity, which characterized the late Medieval and early Renaissance Venetian society, were toppled. Of course, human nature being what it is, the loss of inhibitions manifested themselves in less than contemplative practices most commonly of a sexual nature.

Giacomo Franco: "Liston di maschere in Campo S.Stefano"-engraving (1610)

Normally, patrician ladies in Venice were relegated to the house, and when they were allowed to exit, they weren’t independent. Venetian ladies where obliged to teeter around in exceptionally high wedges which often meant they needed to be supported by two men to walk the streets, high heels have always been a way to heighten a woman’s desirability while enhance her fragility.

 Giacomo Franco: "Ciarlatani in Piazza San Marco" -engraving (1610)

But during the carnival however, the ladies felt freed by the masks, and they would dress their maids up in the finest costumes and have them escorted to the gatherings in disguise while they would dress up servants, or even men, and meet with their in secret lovers.

 Pietro Bertelli: "Mascare usate in Venetia che Tirano Ovi odoriferi" - engraving (1642)

The servants in turn, would dress up as ladies and they had the chance to experience life at the highest end of Venetian society, and sometimes would find themselves on the receiving end of advances by noble men, unaware perhaps that the lady in question was in fact a servant. Or perhaps, this practice being well known, the nobles would pray on the servants knowing that they would get the chance of a little intimacy.

 Anonimous: "Scena di Taverna" -engraving - 17th century

Venetian men would also benefit from these practices of disguise. They would dress up as women and enter convents where they had their pick of frustrated young ladies segregated to monasterial life against their will. Men, hiding behind masks, would also gamble at their hearts desire and escape unrecognized from their creditors.

 Anonimous - "Il Carnevale di Venezia" - engraving

Venice was at the forefront of ship building, trade, political theory, art and architecture thanks to the strict rules and an unrelenting work ethic on which their society was built. Perhaps, the diversions associated with Carnival, which allowed human nature to be cultivated at its most basic, also served the Venetians to climb to the top of the known world. Perhaps it was them who invented the motto “Work hard and play hard”.

Written by: Valentina Zannoni

 

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