The Art of Carnivale in Venice

Real Life During Carnival: The Venetian Bride

 

There is a certain royal wedding that will be occurring at the end of this week, joining England's Prince William and his lovely fiance, Ms. Catherine Middleton.  I suppose that is my excuse for thinking about weddings more than usual.  One can only hope that the couple can retain some sense of the specialness of the event for themselves, in the context of the media frenzy that is brewing.

Frenzy is something well known in Venice, particularly during Carnival.  Filled with Maskers in costumes, with photographers, with visitors, it is easy to forget that the city also is populated with real people going about their daily business.  And sometimes, families are going about quite special businesses, even weddings.

We were delighted one morning when we saw this beautiful young lady and her family emerge from a house and make their way into the nearby campo.  The bride was escorted by an elegant gentleman who could only be her father.  There were well-dressed older ladies - her mother?  Her aunts?  And there were youthful members of the bridal party. Before entering the church, the happy group stopped, and the bride was assisted in her final preparations by her attendants.  It was a lovely surprise.  Amidst the admittedly beautiful fantasy and theater that is Carnival, we stumbled upon a real family on the way to celebrate a marriage.

I love this image because it captures the sweetness of this bride, looking so happy, as she waits for assistance with her glove.  And I love the incongruity of the background.  It still is Venice, after all, so the ubiquitous cart selling masks and postcards is behind her.  And right at the back, a poor visitor, trying to find his place on a map.  Perhaps he will learn that maps in Venice are useless.  It is best to just let oneself let go and enjoy the pleasure of being lost.

I hope this bride was able to put aside the surrounding frenzy of the Carnival season.  I hope she ignored us all, and simply allowed herself the pleasure of getting lost in the joy of the day of her marriage.  I wish the same for Prince William and his Catherine. 

Traditional Venetian Masks : The Bauta Mask (The Volto or Larva)

 
 
 

While some of the masks and costumes  worn at contemporary Carnivale celebrations rely on pure artistic fantasy, others hark back to earlier times.  The ensemble  above, called the Bauta, is such a traditional costume.  Actually, while the mask is sometimes called the Bauta, this is not quite correct.  The mask, itself, was called the "Volto" or "Larva."  

The Volto or Larva  is one of the oldest traditional Venetian masks.  It was very striking, with  a strong, face-like shape, an enlarged nose, a protruding upper lip and a strong  jawline.  The mask itself did  not cover the whole face and so allowed the wearer to talk, eat and drink without taking it off.  Its design effectively disguised the face and even could change the timbre of the voice.  The term "volto" has been translated to mean face, while "larva" has been translated to mean "ghost" and sometimes this is called a "ghost mask."

 

While this example is  gold, traditionally, the mask would be white or black, made of leather, papier mache or plaster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some contemporary examples of the Volta:

 

 

 

 In contemporary Carnivale, the Volta is often very ornate and accompanied by equally ornate costumes.  The lower part of the face, chin and neck are not necessarily fully covered and so at least the gender of the wearer is not concealed.   However, when the Volta is part of the traditional Bauta costume, the face is fully covered and it is impossible to tell if the wearer is a man or a woman. 

The traditional Bauta costume includes other elements as well as the mask, and this will the the focus of an upcoming post.