The inner spirit of the Venice Carnival 2024!

Good morning! Good morning! How are you? Welcome on our channel! I am Giacomo and today we are going to see the ancient and traditional Carnival of Venice. A splendid time of celebration where people could level their social classes and have fun, it was awesome. Marius, what do you think about this Carnival? Hi Giacomo! Well, the Carnival brings a lot ofcheerfulness! That’s for sure. And a lot of people! It’ll be challenging recording with so many persons. Another challenge is for sure the fog. Here in Venice you must go through this bad weather. The latest one... We want to create a different story. A different point of view. We know Venice is much visited and much talked about. Absolutely! We must tell a different story! A deeper one! We must live the true spirit of the Carnival of Venice! As you said, there are few obstacles, such as people and fog. But real sailors, do sail offshore! So? Ready, set, go! Carnival! What does it mean? "Carnevale" derives from the Latin, it means "take off the meat", In fact, at the end of the Carnival period began the period of Lent, where for 40 days it was traditionally forbidden to eat meat. But I asked myself... This is the common definition of it right? But what does it mean inside any of us? What does Carnival convey? Why do people take part in it? Why do people come here to Venice? I had the opportunity to interview both tourists and passersby, as well as Masks. In short, I was very, very happy because everyone gave me their own meaning of Carnival. They told me what does it mean to them to be here. Inside each of them, in fact, there is a real reason that has driven them to come here. Let’s see together what are them! We are here with... Laura! Antonello! Guys, your costumes are truly spectacular. I wanted to ask you what Carnival represents for you, what emotions, are you feeling joy? It's a moment of relaxation and true joy, being all together is. It’s amazing! It’s beautiful! It's also beautiful to have a moment of communion, especially at this time when there are so many bad things It's important to find a moment of solidarity and spirit together to have some fun. And this maybe is the right moment! Perhaps when I can tell you this, that this is our first time wearing this mask, and this morning when we left the hotel, it was impossible to walk! So it's really impossible to walk. We can't manage it event to take a step, so therefore evidently people want to have fun, they want to feel good! This is a thing that frankly I’ll remember. It's a beautiful experience for transforming, for having fun, and since we are in Venice for trying to live in another era. It's a beautiful city that has remained intact. Once my wife dressed me up as a newspaper... Wow! Interesting! on the wave of carnival creativity! So, with just newspapers, we managed to create a nice, funny mask, riding a scooter dressed as newspaper! It's a privilege, in short, the luck to live in this city, even if only for a short time... We shall enjoy this beautiful day. Again, it’s just only for a few people, we feel lucky! In this moment, I believe you’re lucky too for intervieving these joyful and jokey masks! Masks weren't free of moral code, they had to follow one as well! For example, if they met on the streets or squares, They had to bow, and they could not speak! They could at most express themselves with gestures or in a whisper. They, however, couldn't speak. Traditionally, that's how it was. And for you, does Arlecchino hold any particular significance? Why did you choose to dress as this character? He was mischievous! He reflects my character and my story! A regular person, doing any activity, can have artistic aspirations and pursue them without fearing negative judgment. And then it's suitable for Venice. The Carnival of Venice is suitable for Venice, and vice versa. Carnival’s spirit is in Venice! We started as a joke, wearing a shark and a giraffe pijama. And then, when you get here, it feels like going back in time, and this really grabs you, you feel part of an Epoch! You have to try it! It's difficult to explain for someone who never tried, Just try to wear a dress! You don't need grandiose things! Just try it! Mine is a marquis costume! The Venice Carnival is magical, and behind these costumes, there is a year of work! A year of work! We take care of the details, we make our shoes, we manage to make the hat ourselves, we attach the trimmings... It’s a continuous search for accessories and things to make special costumes. What does the Carnival represent for you? Now, and we are here for a week, it's a week of escape, representing immersing oneself in another character... in another era... Then, Venice is amazing! It's gratifying to see people like our costumes! In the end, you are rewarded for all the effort you put into it. In addition to the traditional Italian costumes, we were also fortunate to see other traditions from other peoples. We ended up in ancient India with a Maharaja, and then we went further into the Aztec people with a couple that was truly fantastic with truly incredible costumes. Jacopo, your costume is spectacular. Can you tell us more about it? It's a Maharaja costume, entirely handcrafted, and as you can see, we've added some jewelry pieces, to enhance its visual impact. Also, we have this fan, handmade with peacock feathers. The feathers were inserted one by one. Indeed, taking photos has an effect. I like taking them with everyone, but with children, it's much nicer because it also brings back memories of when I was a child and approached someone in costume, a beautiful thing. We like to bring something that is often tied to cultures, even from outside, not necessarily the classic Venetian or Baroque. In this case, we were inspired by the Aztecs, so we made everything at home because we like to build with the materials we find. So, we created these costumes based on that culture. Does it represent something in particular? Maybe a priest? It represents a guardian in Aztec culture, perhaps of a pyramid or temple. Hello Giulia, your costume is truly spectacular. Would you like to talk about it, please? Of course! thank you so much for the compliments! Well, I must say that ever since I was a child, I've always had a passion for the Aztecs, the Egyptians, and so on. Consequently, I've always wanted and desired to make a costume somewhat dedicated to this world. And finally, after several years of planning, I managed to bring it to the Venice Carnival. Indeed, several years can be inferred from the complexity of the costume. Does it represent something in particular, both objectively, perhaps because it represents something specific, and subjectively, maybe because it carries a message you wanted to spread? In reality, I was inspired by the theme of the warrior, specifically the jaguar warrior, because in Aztek civilization, the jaguar was a symbol of strength dedicated to the warrior. Consequently, it's a bit like saying, a good omen. Always keep the strength of the jaguar in everything we do! An edict from 1296 declared the Venice Carnival an official festival, and indeed it lasted from December 26th until Ash Wednesday. During this time, it was possible to see performances featuring acrobats, jugglers, and even shows with animals and theatrical performances. We had the opportunity to watch one! We are on a holiday! Just us two! We just came here for a weekend, to have a little fun! We have never been here before, So we decided to come! I have been here! Twice! Okay... I have never been here before! We tought it was going to be quiet romantic and nice! Would you like to share anything you like, or maybe a deep meaning? Sweets! Sweets!? Sweets!!! Here we go! Sweets! Le chiacchere! (Angel Wings). We are not from here, we are from southern Italy, and it was nice to find typical sweets of the Venetian Carnival. Furthermore, we were also fortunate that a couple of artisans granted us an interview. Indeed, they allowed us to immerse ourselves in this world of mask-making. We are inside the Casin dei Nobili showroom, which is a rather well-known place in Venice. that myself and Stefano Oliani opened in 2002. The characteristic, let's say... both of the space and of the creations, is that it presents itself with with peculiarities or unique details, starting from the showroom! Which has a window overlooking the canal where gondolas often pass by, so it's really very, very suggestive for the visitors. There’s window on the ceiling, so maybe this isn't the moment, but often there is a truly very, very special light. We also have a small outdoor garden, which in Venice is a rarity, During winter is less green and less flowery, but still charming. And adjacent to it, there is a workshop where all the pieces you see here are made. I put on this mask because one of Stefano Oliani's latest creations, just released this year. It features, in addition to the base in handmade papier-mâché, completely handcrafted, with an application of Murano glass jewelry work. This is all glass, every single leaf, every single piece made by hand. So it's rare that you'll see pieces of this level when you go around. So what can I say? We work according to a philosophy that is not based on quantity, not on repetitive industrial production, but on the unique piece, on quality, and on the conscious choice made by people truly interested in a certain type of artistic creation. And the masks you see... Just take a stroll, a brief overview, and you'll see the uniqueness of each piece. We now own a collection of thousands of pieces of original applications that we reproduce and composein always different and always unique ways. It is believed that the spread of the cat mask was mainly due to the absence of these animals in La Serenissima (Venice). How many mask makers are there in Venice? Twenty-five years ago there were about... I don't want to exaggerate, I believe 200 or 250. Now, exactly the number, I don't know, today we would be at most 12 or18. Marius, what struck you about this video? The whole story itself was beautiful. An experience to repeat. What struck me the most was probably the artisan who showed us how to make the masks, especially because he is one of the few remaining in Venice who still does everything manually. Tradition certainly needs to be preserved, and these artisans become increasingly valuable because there are fewer and fewer of them. That's what struck me the most about this story. I couldn't agree more. Guys, if you feel like supporting, we would be thankful if you leave a like, a comment. Even sharing on social media can really help the channel grow. Of course, we will bring more content like this. And we really can't wait to immerse you in tradition, travels, and the joy of discovery. Thank you for being with us, see you soon!