Venice... The Mask Maker.
It’s really impossible to figure out Venice without its Carnevale and enigmatic “personages” hidden behind the masks... It is said that the Carnival of Venice was started from a victory of the "Repubblica della Serenissima", Venice's previous name, against the Patriarch of Aquileia, Ulrico in the year 1162. In the honor of this victory, the people started to dance and make reunions in San Marco Square. Apparently, this festival started on that period and become official in the renaissance. The festival declined during the 18th century...Masks have always been a main feature of the Venetian carnival. Traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's Day, December 26) and the start of the carnival season and midnight of Shrove Tuesday. They have always been around Venice. As masks were also allowed on Ascension and from October 5 to Christmas, people could spend a large proportion of the year in disguise . Mask makers (mascherari) enjoyed a special position in society, with their own laws and their own guild. In 1979, when Venice reintroduced Carnevale, Sergio Boldrin found a new way to flex his creativity, switching from painting canvases to mask making. In a small shop, La Bottega dei Mascareri, which shares part of its back wall with the 11th century Fisherman's Church (San Giacomo di Rialto) at the foot of the Rialto Bridge, Sergio and his brother Massimo, two of Venice’s top mask makers, displayed their current creations inspired by tradition and innovation. President of the Venetian mask makers Guild, Sergio Boldrin participates in Carnevale, La Commedia dell'Arte productions, and marketing his work abroad, he also made masks for Stanley Kubrick movie “Eyes Wide Shut”...
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Venice... The Mask Maker.
It’s really impossible to figure out Venice without its Carnevale and enigmatic “personages” hidden behind the masks... It is said that the Carnival of Venice was started from a victory of the "Repubblica della Serenissima", Venice's previous name, against the Patriarch of Aquileia, Ulrico in the year 1162. In the honor of this victory, the people started to dance and make reunions in San Marco Square. Apparently, this festival started on that period and become official in the renaissance. The festival declined during the 18th century...Masks have always been a main feature of the Venetian carnival. Traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's Day, December 26) and the start of the carnival season and midnight of Shrove Tuesday. They have always been around Venice. As masks were also allowed on Ascension and from October 5 to Christmas, people could spend a large proportion of the year in disguise . Mask makers (mascherari) enjoyed a special position in society, with their own laws and their own guild. In 1979, when Venice reintroduced Carnevale, Sergio Boldrin found a new way to flex his creativity, switching from painting canvases to mask making. In a small shop, La Bottega dei Mascareri, which shares part of its back wall with the 11th century Fisherman's Church (San Giacomo di Rialto) at the foot of the Rialto Bridge, Sergio and his brother Massimo, two of Venice’s top mask makers, displayed their current creations inspired by tradition and innovation. President of the Venetian mask makers Guild, Sergio Boldrin participates in Carnevale, La Commedia dell'Arte productions, and marketing his work abroad, he also made masks for Stanley Kubrick movie “Eyes Wide Shut”...
Much better viewed large on black View On Black