The Carnival of Venice (Carnevale di Venezia) began in 1162 when Saint Mark’s Square (San Marco) was filled with the people of Venice dancing in celebration after the defeat of their enemy, The Patriarch.
Over the centuries, medieval traditions evolved into a Saturnalia-style winter revelry where different classes of Venetian society could mix together despite the anonymity of elaborate costumes and masks. Many styles of masks are worn, including velvet half-masks, morettas, and the medico della peste, the beaked masks originally worn by the plague doctors in the Middle Ages. The two-week festival usually begins two weeks before Ash Wednesday, toward the end of January or the beginning of February, and ends on Shrove Tuesday, known as Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras).
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