Venetian Mask

 Happy Wednesday visitors! We continue the fun on ABC Wednesday and my take on letter M is  for mask. These are very popular souvenir for tourists visiting the city of Venice.

Venetian Carnival Masks are hand-made from papier-maiche

Venetian Masks are a centuries-old tradition of Venice, Italy. The masks are typically worn during the Carnivale, but have been used on many other occasions in the past, usually as a device for hiding the wearer's identity and social status. The mask would permit the wearer to act more freely in cases where he or she wanted to interact with other members of the society outside the bounds of identity and everyday convention. It was thus useful for a variety of purposes, some of them illicit or criminal, others just personal, such as romantic encounters.

Venetian masks are characterized by their ornate design, featuring bright colours such as gold or silver and the use of complex decorations in the baroque style. They can be full-face masks (like  the bauta) or eye masks (like the Columbina).

This shop near Diana Hotel exclusively sells luxury masks.

Venetian masks feature prominently in the film Eyes Wide Shut. In the film, the main character (played by Tom Cruise) infiltrates a masked ball where high ranking individuals engage in secret orgies and masonic rituals. You can see the mask used in the film here.

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