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Venetian Masks

If you see a typical venetian mask, what comes to your mind? Most likely you are thinking about the Venetian carnival but actually masks were used in this city much before. The main reason for this was the size of the streets as they were so narrow they made privacy almost impossible.

Why were masks used in Venice?

Take into account in the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Venice was like Las Vegas for us. The city was full of casinos and brothels but society was still very puritan so if a citizen wanted to go to one of these places, he had to wear a mask to protect his identity. That was the first real use for masks in Venice.

Later on, they will be also used during the Carnival for the same reason, privacy. The Carnival is a christian festivity in which christians are allowed to eat, drink, dance… commemorating those 3 weeks before Jesus Christ death.

Let's talk about two masks here, the most common one and the most famous one. You can find them both on the photo above. The most common one is the one with one red eye and the other eye in black. This one is called Bauta. It's the most comfortable to wear as it is open on its bottom part. This allowed Venetians wearing it to eat and drink with their masks on. Actually, nowadays this is the most used one by Venetians during carnival because of this convenience. On top of that, it makes breathing much easier and prevents the face from sweating. This mask was combined with a black hat and a cape to hide any sign of identity.

Then let's take a look at the other mask, the most famous one probably, the one with the bird beak. This has nothing to do with privacy as it was originally used by plague doctors during the three great plagues happening in Venice. The main reason for its shape is to ensure a security distance between doctors and plague patients. The beak contained some herbs and spices to neutralize the patient's smell.

This mask was combined also with a cape and a hat but also with a cane with a scalpel at the end which was used by doctors to check if the patient was bleeding, and therefore he was alive, so he was marked to be taken to a quarantine hospital. If he was not bleeding, then the body was taken to one of the islands where corpses were cremated.

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