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The legend
The legend says the dancing began in this square after a victory in 1162
According to legend, the Carnival began after the Venetian Republic defeated the patriarch of Aquileia, Ulrich II, in 1162. To honour the victory, the people started to dance and gather in St Mark's Square. The festival became official during the Renaissance, and was very famous in the 18th century.
Scented eggs
In the 13th century masked people were forbidden to throw scented eggs
The first documents about masks date from the 13th century, when the Great Council made it a crime for masked people to throw scented eggs. These were eggshells filled with rose water perfume and tossed by young men at friends or at young women they admired. Some were filled with ink instead.
The mask
A mask let people set aside the rules that said who they were
One scholar argues that covering the face in public was a uniquely Venetian response to one of the most rigid class hierarchies in European history. During Carnival the sumptuary laws were suspended, and people could dress as they liked, not as their profession and class required. The mask makers had their own guild.
1797
In 1797 the festival was outlawed, and it came back in 1979
Under Emperor Francis II the festival was outlawed entirely in 1797 and masks were strictly forbidden. It reappeared gradually in the 19th century, for short periods and mostly for private feasts. After a long absence it returned in 1979, and about 3 million visitors now come to Venice for it each year.
The plague doctor
The beaked mask began as a doctor's protection against plague
The Medico della Peste did not start as a Carnival mask. It began as a way to prevent the spread of disease, adopted in the 17th century by the French physician Charles de Lorme while treating plague victims. The hollow beak held flowers and sweet-smelling substances to keep away the odours thought to spread infection.
Day 2, morning
Next is Grand Canal.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Carnival of Venice and the Wikipedia article Piazza San Marco, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.