Showing posts with label mask. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mask. Show all posts

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Return from the Grand Spectacle of Carnival in Venice, Italy

Looking into the orb, the next few months promise to bring a seismic transition. I'm in the midst of a six-month Exit Plan from New York, an escape, really. Living in this city has become very difficult when it comes to being creative. Finding that balance has been nearly impossible, and after twenty years, it's time for a shift anyway. A big change.
As part of that Plan, I quit my job (this time, in finance) in January, and immediately bought a ticket to Venice; a place that has become a refuge when I need a true vacation. It was time to start putting the things that are important to me front and center. I planned to visit some longtime friends. It also just happened to be perfect timing to take in the festivities of Carnival. Below are some of my travel notes and photos from my second voyage to Venice for this colorful occasion.
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Thursday - I spent my first few days in Bassano del Grappa (or just Bassano) with a longtime friend and his family. It was his daughter's fourth birthday party with a bunch of her friends from school and their parents. Amidst the chaos, I was trying to understand what people were saying to each other and also to me; trying to translate Italian into English and vice versa put my brain into overdrive. I had the usual problem of falling back to sleep after being awakened by something in the middle of my jet-lagged slumber. Today, I feel like I'm paying for it with a really bad head cold. It's not going to keep me inside though! I've been waiting far too long to come back here. 


Sunday - After a few days with my surrogate Italian family in the Veneto, I took the train directly into Venice to spend a few days on my own at my friend's family apartment near the Naval Yard. I had the keys to my home away from home, and my friend came with me to show me how all of the heat and electrical appliances work. I am so looking forward to exploring and taking pictures, resting, and having some much-needed solitude at night. 

Monday/Tuesday - The weather was great for February. Feeling more like the end of March, Venice showed off its warm weather, bright, sunny days, perfect reflective light, and clear twilight just like you might experience on a perfect June evening. This was my second excursion to my favorite water-drenched city for this colorful occasion. Eleven years ago (in 2004), the flooding canals, freezing rain, slush and snow felt like the horrid winter weather in New York I thought I had just escaped. The fog and dampness then was a deterrent to tourists lending itself to the Venice known only to murder mystery novels. 

Barometric perfection brought the crowds and the lavish, colorful costumes to a most exquisite backdrop. The city was absolutely mobbed with people. The masks and feathered costumes have been really something; a photographer's dream come true! I frequently see people walking around with two and three gigantic, weighty cameras and even bigger lenses to capture the spectacle of it all.
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The sun's warmth has been helping the nasty sinus problems I've been battling for the past two days. Feeling this down and out definitely would have been enough to keep me home from my most recent dead-end job, but that's not happening in this stage-like setting! Tomorrow, I plan to go to Murano and then to mass for Ash Wednesday in Saint Marks at dusk when they will close that incredible basilica to the public. 
All over the city, you can see revelers of all ages in elaborate costumes lingering around this old church or that ancient set of steps with the heaviest concentration in St. Mark's Square on Fat Tuesday. Others are seen at an outdoor restaurant enjoying an ever-popular neon orange spritz or light lunch in the Lenten sunshine. Surprise encounters are to be had in the many squares, small bridges, and tight alleyways throughout the island. Nighttime brings bedecked party-goers who flock to the famous Cafe' Florian to gather for a coffee before rushing off to a masquerade ball. Everyone sits in the windows so they can pose for the throngs of photographers just on the other side of the glass. How strange this all seems! To go through the trouble of wearing complicated makeup, mask, and expensive garments so they can stand around like mimes slowly changing their positioning for the gathering crowd of photographers. I guess the prizes must outweigh that burden.

Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) - I went to Murano today following last night's annual festivities, and bought my train tickets to depart for Florence very early in the morning. The city has really emptied out. Everything is really quiet again; even the sidewalks seem to have a hangover!
The city is full of secrets, and even after all of the time spent there, (similar to New York) there are still little niches where, strangely, I have never been. At one time, I felt so confident knowing my way around every nook and cranny. The main fondamentas, the lesser-known campiellos, and the out of the way sotoportegos often acting as portals into even more remote spaces. So many things have changed since I was last here, and my memory fails me. I worried that it just might take my entire visit to re-orient myself. When you are lost, you try to remember all of the little architectural details like breadcrumbs to find your way back home or even just to something familiar; whichever comes first. Trekking along as I am submerged in my own hazy fog, I look up in the misty darkness - a gesturing, carved angel that I've seen somewhere before points the way...
On my last evening of wandering solo with a freedom and anonymity I seldom feel, I finally learned how to get back to the apartment in Castello with the same ease I once had several years ago. As I finished another full day of exploring and snapping photos, I approached the last leg of my journey and suddenly stopped walking. I found myself in Campo Giustinia, and looked up at the clear, starry night, grateful for the series of events that led me here once again. Despite feeling ill for the bulk of my trip, it was still far better than being at work sitting at a desk. Getting back to the me who was starting to feel lost, to who I really am once again as I prepare for the big changes coming my way.


➜Images seen in this post are available in my Etsy store as all-occasion (or no occasion) notecards.

(-travel notes, written in February, 2015)

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Masquerade

While studying in Venice, I became fascinated by the number of masks I was seeing all over the watery city and the history behind them. They were peering from behind curtains in small boutiques and appearing in the window displays of restaurants and antique shops with equal frequency. The workshops of mask makers were suddenly everywhere. I often saw the strange disguies in the paintings I was studying too. I discovered the work of Venetian painter, Pietro Longhi (1701-1785) while wandering through the Ca' Rezzonico Museum. With masquerade paintings like Clara the RhinocerosThe Tooth ExtractorThe Ridotto, and The Parlour, he quickly became one of my favorite painters. Below are some of my paintings from my days in Italy. In between painting on site, I tried to imitate the subjects of the old master painters while adding a little of my own colorful flair. 

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Fat Tuesday - Carnevale in Venice

In places like New Orleans, today is known as "Fat Tuesday" or "Shrove Tuesday" - that crazy period of over-indulgence and partying before Lent and fasting begins in preparation for Easter. Coming from the Italian words for "meat" (carne) and "go away" (vale) is carnevale, or carnival - a farewell to meat. After studying in Venice and visiting friends (previously always in the summer), I wanted to see what carnival would be like. Years ago, I braved the nasty weather that goes hand-in-hand with Venice's marine environment for February. From my notes and recollections:

I arrive at Marco Polo airport at 10:30 a.m. then took the boat to the Castello area of Venice. I am headed to a palace that formerly housed one in a long line of Doges. A section of it with its ancient courtyard is now a friend's apartment as his family's weekend pied-à-terre. We walk for a little while with my suitcases through the winding streets.
Later, we pass through Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo, and it's become very foggy. It is Martedi Grasso (Fat Tuesday) and revelers are already walking around in masks and costumes, posing and becoming one with the city's ancient landmarks. This time, Serenissima is everything I always imagined it would be. Eerie. Sinister. Even though it's mid-afternoon, it's already fairly dark. On certain streets, it is numbingly quiet- except for the clicking of the heels of a courtesan in colonial costume rushing off to one of the balls. This air of mystery is what inspired works like the psycho-thriller, Don't Look Now (starring a very young Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie), Eyes Wide Shut, and Death in Venice. It is a place that oozes of history, intrigue, glorious imagery, and a longing for beauty just like Thomas Mann's novel.


We went briefly to the Casino for a jazz concert and reception. Strangely, I notice the Latin words, "non nobis" (not for us) emblazoned atop its entrance. After the concert, my friend and I walked towards home. Once again, I am taken with the silence of the city at such an early hour. There is no one around, and now all you can hear is your own hurried footsteps as you quickly stride through the fog and darkness. This place is bursting with secrets. We walk by the Church of the Miracoli, a virtual jewel straddling two canals. It is still unrelentlessly cold and damp. The baroque style costume balls held at some of the palazzi must be in full swing by now. The next day, I am grateful that there is a little bit of sun poking through the thick layer of clouds but it doesn't offer any warmth. We go for a walk to the Accademia Bridge area, and then to the busy Campo Margherita.

The water is very turbulent, and getting around is fairly difficult. The water is flooding the square, known as acqua alta, and the boards are out as tourists and residents alike teeter above the inky depths. I went to a mass for Ash Wednesday at St. Mark’s. Unbelievably, the water is ankle deep even inside the ancient church. The main area near the altar must be a little bit higher above sea level. The space is amazing, and it was emotional to be inside to see it in the manner it was intended and without a consistent flow of flashing cameras. I think of all the history here and feel a sense of place. Without so many people bustling through, the space seems oddly small. We go up to receive our ashes. They are sprinkled on the top of my head rather than displayed as a large blob X formation on the forehead as is done back home.
Afterwards, we walk the streets again towards a bacaro (a place for snacks) located near the train station, the Osteria Carbonera. It is an awfully raw night with the high water and driving wind mixed with snow. There are not many people out tonight. The restaurant has long wooden community-style tables that I love so much. There is a candle in a bottle on every table. Very rustic. The lighting is really low and moody, but the atmosphere is friendly and authentic. We came here to eat the last time I was in Venice just three years prior. Tonight, we are offered homemade wine and various spreads for our mini toasts. We take the vaporetto from Guglie and the turbulence in the water is striking near the Ospedale. My hosts hang out with me while I try to force everything I have into three bags.
The next day, the snow is actually accumulating and the water is quite violent again. I have to leave today. It's too bad I won’t get to see my favorite city with a layer of white. As I stare into the blank, lifeless eyes of the carnevale masks, I realize that I'm drawn to Venice again and again for unknown reasons. And, even though I didn't pay top dollar (some upwards of 450 Euro) to go to a costume party, or get dressed up myself, it was one of the best parties I've ever attended - thrown by the city as a whole.
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Pictured above (and below left), is one of the more prominent figures of Carnevale known as the Bauta, usually portrayed as a white mask with a strange, projected upper lip and no chin, worn with a black cloak and a tri-corner hat.
The Bauta (left) and the beaked Plague Doctor (right). Other masks include the Moretta (a black circular velvety mask with netting worn by ladies), the Volta or Larva type, the Columbina, or the Pulcinella (a clown with a protruding nose), the harlequin, pantalone, among many other commedia dell'arte characters. Participation in Venice's festivities and the wearing of a costume during this time guaranteed total anonymity. The lack of identity leveled class systems and also fostered all sorts of roguish behavior from romantic encounters to criminal activity.
The party swirls around the feathered Fantasma at Florian's.

Confetti in Milan- the whole country is celebrating!
The inner sanctum of St. Mark's and some directions on the side of a wall in Sestiere Castello.



Friday, November 12, 2010

James Coviello Mask and Champagne Party

Shortly before the festivities of Halloween draped the city, I went to a small party at the James Coviello boutique in the Lower East Side of New York. The party was all about Old World Charm with headpieces, elaborate masks, and flutes of bubbly. You might recognize some of Coviello's dresses featured at (my favorite store) Anthropologie. His millinery work and special knitware collections have also regularly walked Anna Sui's runway shows in collaboration with the designer.
 
You can see more of his beautiful work here or treat your eyes to his enchanting 
store on 70 Orchard Street in downtown Manhattan.
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 My friend Layla and I with our masks for the evening.