A Carnival in Venice

A Carnival in Venice or (Carnevale Di Venezia) is the annual festival held forty days before Easter. Carnaval stated as a time for celebration and expression throughout the social classes, and wearing a Venetian mask helped them to merge to even more.After the decline of the Carnaval in Venice during the 1700s , it was reintroduced by the Italian government in 1970, in the hope of restoring Venice's history and culture.

Approx 30,000 people come to Venice Carnival a year , and one of its most important events is the best masked competition , with a panel of international costume and fashion designer judges.

if your looking for the perfect Venice Carnival mask then visit www.venetianmasqueademasks.co.uk

Assassins Creed Brotherhood Carnival Mask

If there are any fans of the brilliant assassins creed series out there , then you will have seen the stunning Bauta mask worn by Ezio Auditore for the carnival in sequence 9 of assassins creed 2 brotherhood , which is set in Renaissance Italy .The Bauta

 venetian mask is worn when you must slip into a carnival party held by Barbagio and assassinate him whilst not being found . the Bauta mask aides you in getting into the party without being detected .

a thoroughly good game especially for us . 

to see our selection of bauta masks please visit us at www.venetianmasquerademasks.co.uk 

A full face mask the Bauta or Bautta has a strong stubborn chin line ,  and is always covered in plenty of gilding .The Bauta mask covers the top of the face from forehead to nose including the cheeks but leaves the mouth open to enable the wearer to to eat and converse easily. the design of the mask also changes the timbre of the wearers voice concealing the identity of the wearer even more.

the Bauta mask is one of the most worn by men  during Carnival, but it wasn't always for this occasion. Due to its ability of hiding a persons identity and social status , many wore it to allow them to act more freely and outside the limits of convention for such things as illicit ,criminal,personal and romantic interests.

During the 1700s the Bauta mask became  a regulated mask obligatory by the Venetian government , to be worn during political decision making events and ballots where citizens were required to be anonymous o ensure free and equal votes. Whilst wearing the mask the wearer was required to not carry arms. 

To see our great range of authentic Bauta masks visit www.venetianmasquerademasks.co.uk 

Carnival

The festive season of Carnival occurs immediately before Lent during February  and is by definition a public celebration combining parades with themes such as circus and masquerades in public streets.

Mainly Carnival is celebrated by Roman Catholics , two of the most famous are the Brazilian Carnival of Rio De Janeiro and the Italian masked Carnival of Venice . Carnival traditions  are based on the Lenten period from the Gospel , where people would hold no parties ,celebrations .and fast by not consuming any rich foods such as dairy's,fats ,meats and sugars.This would last for forty days and after that time the whole community would throw a huge Carnival party.Whilst Carnival forms part of the history of the Roman church , some traditions do date back to the ancient Roman festivals called Saturnalia and Bacchanalia and have been Incorporated into the Venetian masked  Carnival.

Perhaps the best known traditions include  carnival parades ,  and  masquerade masked balls which were first recorded in medieval Italy in the Carnival of Venice .these themes quickly spread to Portugal,Spain and France and then on to Germany.

The term Carne vale is Latin for "farewell to meat" which explains the fasting for Lent  Alternatively it could be translated to "farewell to the flesh" which is a motto embraced by many as an encouragement to let go of your everyday self and embrace the carefree nature of the festival.

The first Carnival of Venice was recorded in 1268, although it was restricted by church laws forbidding the wearing of masks , a main feature of the Italian Carnival .Venetian masked  Carnival was stopped altogether after its fall to Austria in 1798 , until its revival in the 20th century .

There are two main Italian Festivals , the first is Carnival of Viareggio .which is characterised by its parades and floats . The carnival of Ivrea has a famous battle of the oranges where people have a food fight in the streets with citrus fruits.

In summary Carnival stretches across the world to every country and religion who adapt it to suite there customs , with the most famous being the Venetian Carnival.

If you would like to see our great range of Venetian masks visit www.venetianmasquerademasks.co.uk 

Casanova Mask

The Casanova mask is the epitome of the famous lover Guacomo Casanova .representing everything Casanova stood for ,wealthy, seductive , humorous and dangerous .

born in 1725  to the actress Zanetta Farussi , Casanova was brought up in the pleasure capitol of Europe , the republic of Venice . with its famed carnival ,gambling houses and courtesans , Venice enticed the wealthy young men of Europe to make it one of  the first  stops of their grand tour .this exciting city would be the pleasure ground of Casanova throughout his life .

He spent much of his youth at boarding school until being placed under the care of the Abbe Gozzi  and his family .it was in this household that Casanova had his first encounter with the opposite sex in the form of the Abbes younger sister .

He was known early on for his quick wit , inquisitiveness  and intense appetite for knowledge which lead him to entering Padua University .But becoming increasingly in debt due to his gambling he left and returned to Venice to become a clerical lawyer and abbe in the called the patriarch of Venice .By this point he was something of a dandy with his powdered and scented wigs and tall dark looks ., which brought him to the attention of the rich venetian senator Alvise Mallipero .Mallipero  taught Casanova the manners of society , the joys of good food and wine and the best circles to move in .The two parted ways after the senator caught Casanova dallying with an actress called Teresa Imer who was the intended object of seduction for Mallipero .during this time Casanova also amused himself with the company of two sisters called Nannetta and Maria . These plus scandals including being thrown into prison and caught writing love letters to a cardinal  ended Casanovas short church career .

Looking for a new way to earn money he joined the venetian army as a military officer , but soon abandoned it after finding the duty's to boring .By now 21 Casanova became a violinist and embraced the the habits of his fellow degraded musicians .after tiring of the music life he went on to try his hand at a career in gambling ,doctoring ,writing and as a state spy.but by 49 his reckless years of living and travelling had taken its toll on his health and looks which had been ruined by small pox scars. the woman became few and the gambling less fun without the funds.

When Count Joseph Von Waldstein requested Casanova to become his librarian in Bohemia , Casanova readily agreed and lived there writing his famous memoirs and conquests  until his death aged 73 .one of his most famous seductions was that of a nun , who during carnival was seduced by Casanova wearing a Venetian carnival mask and sneaking into the convent to find her.

If your looking for your own mask with much history to it why not try www.venetianmasquerademasks.co.uk