Carnival 2011
19-20 February 2011 e 26 Feb - 8 March 2011
Re-launched two decades ago, the Carnival was immediately regarded both in Italy and abroad as an event not to be missed.
Venice Carnival is steeped in history, charm and tradition: its inhabitants and tourists alike have taken a keen interest in it, thanks to its mix of transgression, art, history and culture in one of the most unique cities in the world.
During the ten days of Carnival leading up to Mardi Gras, Venice is a hive of activity and entertainment, from improvised street entertainment to performances put on by the organisers.
A central idea is chosen each year that is taken from various cultural or show-biz themes.
Saint Mark's Square remains the heart of Carnival, with its huge stage, although other events take place throughout the city, helping to avoid an excessive build-up of people in pedestrianised Venice.
History
Origins of Carnival
The Carnival has its roots in many traditions, from the Latin feast of Saturnalia to the Greek feast of Dionysian cults celebrating the start of spring, when masks were used for symbolic representation. It signalled a time in which everything was permitted in an apparent incarnation of the world turned on its head.
In fact, the Carnival was a means of rigidly controlling the impulses. The tendency to excess was merely a benevolent concession for a prescribed period of time.
In the strictly hierarchical Venetian society, it was deemed necessary to give the most humble classes the illusion of becoming similar to the more powerful classes, albeit wearing a mask: the aim was to diminish social tensions and maintain consensus.
An extended calendar
Carnival was prolonged even further. It usually began on December 26, ending on Ash Wednesday, although carnival licence was often given for the wearing of masks from October 1 and it was not unusual to attend parties and banquets during Lent.
During the Festa della Sensa, which lasted 15 days, the use of masks and disguises was allowed.
In other words, Carnival lasted for a few months and this certainly helped to create the image of Venice as a city dedicated to pleasure.
The festivities
Venice's population took part in official festivities in the public square, in particular on "giovedì grasso" (Carnival Thursday), with the Strength of Hercules and the Flight of the Turk (an acrobat who descended a rope from the bell tower of Saint Mark's).
There were also fireworks and live entertainment with acrobats, tightrope walkers, puppeteers and street entertainers, all under State control.
As well as these public festivities there were numerous private parties in the patrician houses and palaces, where magnificent balls and gambling took place.
Il Ridotto
In this climate of pleasure, there had to be gambling and il Ridotto at S. Moisé, the public gaming house run by the State, became one of the focal points of the Venetian carnival.
Between 1638 (when it opened) and 1774 (when it closed), thousands of masked gamblers let thousands of ducats flow into the State coffers.
It was only open during carnival (which lasted quite a few months), and only the croupiers and the so-called barnabotti (impoverished Venetian aristocrats) were exempt from wearing masks.
Traditional sweets
Pastry-chefs came under the Arte dei Scaleteri (school of pastissier), which took its name from the "scalete", pastries whose shape looked like iron grilles or a small ladder. Apparently they were wedding pastries no longer produced.
However, you can always find other "golosessi" in Venice: delicious sweets and biscuits, such as "bussolai", "baicoli" and "zaeti", made from maize floor, perfect for dunking in Malvasia wine or zabaione.
Frittelle e galani
Frittelle and galani are symbols of Carnival.
Frittelle (recipe)
Ingredients:
g. 20 yeast
g 500 flour
cl 300 milk
2 eggs
g 100 white sugar
g 100 butter
oil, for frying
Mix the floor, sugar, eggs and milk together in a bowl, add a pitch of salt and some yeast, raisins, lemon and grated apple.
Mix until smooth , then leave to rest somewhere warm.
Fry until golden in a pan of oil; drain well and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Galani or crostoli (recipe)
ingredients:
g 500 flour
g 100 white sugar
g 50 butter
2 eggs
cl 125 white wine
a pinch of salt
lemon zest
rum or anisette, 1Tbsp
oil, for frying
Roll out a sheet of pastry made from eggs, floor, sugar, butter, rum or anisette and a pinch of salt.
Leave to rest for half an hour, then roll as thinly as possible with a rolling pin.
Cut into strips, making small cuts in the centre to form bubbles.
Fry, leave to cool, and then sprinkle with icing sugar.
Link:
Official program in Venice:
Carnival in the 18th century
The Serenissima Republic fell to the French in 1797 and its final century of power appears concentrated on life's more exterior and frivolous pleasures, although in reality the situation was far more complex.
During this period Carnival, with its parties, entertainments, masks, theatres and public gaming house, became a tourist attraction for the whole of Europe, welcoming thousands of visitors eager to experience its extremely unusual and effervescent atmosphere, with Venice itself becoming "The Magnet of Europe".
Carlo Goldoni
In the plays of Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793), Carnival is mentioned so often that his work has become an important source of documentation.
His works were often shown during the long carnival season, which we find mentioned in some of his most famous plays, such as La vedova scaltra, Le massere, Le morbinose, I rusteghi, and Una delle ultime sere di Carnovale.
Goldoni's attitude to the luxury and ostentation of carnival is certainly not benevolent, with his plays suggesting a more simple and moderate form of entertainment.
Casanova: myth and reality
He probably best personifies the pleasure-seeking, lustful and decadent aspects of 18th century Venice.
Although a complex and articulate man, in life he was considered a sorcerer, man of letters, spy, libertine, fugitive, inveterate gambler, forger, traitor, seducer, cardsharp, poet, slanderer, atheist, cheat, rogue, blasphemer and alchemist.
Protected by his mask, he attended the best salons, the most fashionable theatres and Il Ridotto, where he squandered gold ducats at the gaming tables, and did not disdain from frequenting even the most squalid brothels: wherever he went, he left a trail of scandal behind him.
Although a complex and articulate man, in life he was considered a sorcerer, man of letters, spy, libertine, fugitive, inveterate gambler, forger, traitor, seducer, cardsharp, poet, slanderer, atheist, cheat, rogue, blasphemer and alchemist.
Protected by his mask, he attended the best salons, the most fashionable theatres and Il Ridotto, where he squandered gold ducats at the gaming tables, and did not disdain from frequenting even the most squalid brothels: wherever he went, he left a trail of scandal behind him.
MY COLLECTION OF SWAROVSKI FIGURE
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