The costumes of the Venice Carnival

The Venice Carnival (Italian: Carnevale di Venezia) is an annual festival held in Venice, Italy. The carnival ends on Shrove Tuesday (Martedì Grasso or Mardi Gras), which is the day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The biggest feature of this festival is masks, followed by gorgeous costumes.

The Venice Carnival is one of the oldest and largest carnivals in the world today. Its origins are centuries old, and it still attracts thousands of tourists each year who arrive in Venice to admire the scostumes and masks parading in the streets and squares.

During the carnival, the squares and alleys of the city are filled with all kinds of masked people, dressed in costumes and colorful masks, wandering around every corner of Venice.

Top 7 Traditional Venetian Carnival Masks

• Bauta

One of the most popular traditional masks at the Carnival of Venice, the Bauta features an elaborate white mask. It includes an over-prominent nose, a thick supraorbital ridge, a projecting "chin line", and no mouth. Its special shape allows the wearer to talk, eat and drink without taking it off, thus protecting the wearer's privacy.

The bauta was often accompanied by a red or black cape and a tricorn.

• Medico Della Peste (The Plague Doctor)

With its long beak, the Medico della peste is one of the most bizarre and most recognizable of the Venetian masks, but it was not originally a carnival mask at all.

The design was inspired by 17th-century French physician Charles de Lorme, who used the mask, among other hygiene precautions, while treating plague victims.

The mask is usually white and consists of a hollow beak and round eyeholes covered with crystal discs to create the effect of wearing glasses.

• Volto (Larva)

The Volto mask is the iconic modern Venetian mask, it is usually made of stark white porcelain or thick plastic, but is also often gilded and decorated, and is commonly worn with a tricorn and cloak.

It covers the wearer's entire face, including the entire chin, making the wearer completely anonymous. Due to its restrictive design, the wearer cannot eat or drink anything without taking it off.

• Pantalone

The Pantalone mask is considered to be one of the oldest Venetian masks.

It is derived from a character in the Italian drama Commedia dell'arte, usually shown as a sad old man with a long hooked nose and slanted eyes (on stage to signify wisdom).

• Arlecchino

The Arlecchino mask is another mask associated with the Commedia dell'arte, and the Arlecchino's character was often a servant of the Pantalon.

It is characterized by a short, blunt, ape-like nose, a set of wide, round, arching eyebrows, a rounded beard, and always a "bump" upon his forehead meant to signify a devil's horn.

• Colombina

The Colombina mask is named after a stock character in the Commedia dell'arte: Colombina was a maidservant and soubrette who was an adored part of the Italian theatre for generations.

It is usually seen as an ornate half mask worn by women, adorned with gold, silver, crystals, feathers, etc.

• Gnaga

This peculiar half-mask has a distinctive cat-like appearance and is often worn by men who want to disguise themselves as women.

The two main types of Venetian Carnival traditional costumes

Traditional Venetian costumes date back to the second half of the 16th century, and in Venetian costume ateliers you'll find them made in faithful historical reproductions. Among the various types of costumes available, the following two are the main ones:

• Commedia dell’Arte costumes:

It includes the costumes of the characters of the traditional Italian theater like comedies of the great Venetian, Carlo Goldoni with Harlequin (“Servant of two masters”).

• 18th-century Venetian costumes:

The Venice Carnival was very popular in the 18th century. It is said that at that time, princes, ministers, gentlemen and ladies from various European countries rushed to Venice to watch the performance. Since they did not want to reveal their identities, wearing masks and disguises became a continuing tradition.

Thus, such costumes are mainly flamboyant fashions from the heyday of Venice's Carnival in the 18th century.

What costumes will they wear at the Venice Carnival?

Most of the costumed attendees dress as Venetian aristocrats, wearing the opulent fashions of the 18th-century Venice Carnival heyday. They go all out to get into character and recreate majestic outfits from the past. Many will be dressed after classic Venetian Carnival characters like the Plague Doctor.

Other costumes are completely fantasy-inspired, which often means wearing a full-face mask and costume filled with glitter, jewels, silks, and feathers. Other costumes are designed to interpret specific themes, such as seasons, animals, or the sun and moon.

There are also plenty of costumed participants who incorporate more modern or creative elements into the outfits they wear.

However, not everyone goes all out in costumes, preferring to admire them. Most people who attend the Venice Carnival end up buying a mask to wear.

What should I wear to the Venice Carnival?

Most visitors don't get dressed up for the Venice Carnival, preferring to admire the ornate costumes, hooded capes and incredible masks.

If you want to dress up and be part of the costumed fun, you can have an outfit made when you arrive in Venice, or rent one from a Venice studio (there are costume shops throughout the city that rent outfits).

The Venice Carnival is meant to be a fun, relaxing experience, so wear whatever you're most comfortable with. But it is recommended to at least wear a mask, it will make you blend in and feel like a part of the carnival.

You can easily buy a mask for a few euros at any of the small stands or shops that have colonized each corner of the streets. In the city center, however, ancient shops or ateliers still produce masks according to ancient art. Here, pulp and ribbons are not replaced by plastic, and each product is a true masterpiece, crafted with patience and attention to detail. Of course, you can also buy your favorite mask online in advance.