(27 Jan 2016) LEAD-IN:
It's carnival time in Venice and once again masked people dressed in spectacular costumes have started to fill the streets and squares of the canal city.
This year Carnival is celebrating the army of mask makers, tailors, weavers and glass makers who are helping recreate the magic and colour of 18th Century Venice over the next few weeks.
STORY-LINE:
Intricately designed masks, grandiose costumes - it could only be Venice Carnival.
And this year the people who have been working all year long to create the spectacular costumes that mark the carnival are being celebrated with a special tribute.
Starting January 30th visitors will be able to see images of the craftsmen and women at work on a big screen in St Mark's Square. Actors will recreate the artisans activities from 18th Century workshops showing how the crafts have remained unchanged over the centuries.
Local artisans such as mask makers, tailors and shoemakers will also gather on the square for workshops.
Whether strolling along the canals or attending an elaborate ball - the Venetian mask is the signature of Carnival.
Master mask maker, Gualtiero Dall'Osto from the Tragicomica atelier in Venice has been making masks for 35 years. He says far from hiding the face - the masks allow the wearers to reveals their true selves.
"The mask is inside a person, is inside his capability to look inside himself, to find himself, and Carnival is the chance, the time, when this is freely allowed, so we have to keep on recovering this space as best we can, because it is the space of creativity in which we allow ourselves to look inside and find our inner masks."
The cost of a mask ranges from around 70 euros for a paper mask (USD 76) to anything up to 2000 euros (USD 2175) and beyond for a bespoke piece.
Francesco Briggi tailors for Pietro Longhi atelier (studio), one of the most famous craft houses in Venice.
Here costumes fit for lords and ladies are sewn with intricate detail for clients that have ordered up to a year in advance.
"It takes almost a month to create a costume. If a person decides to come to Carnival for ten days then is not possible to do anything. We have many clients, loyal carnival goers, who are already thinking about the next carnival the end of this carnival and we meet during the year to be able to realise what they wish."
Costumes from the 18th Century and the Renaissance are popular. Many clients ask for Doge and Dogaressa outfits - mimicking the medieval rulers of state - others opt for characters painted by the great Venetian painters of that era.
Outfits start at around 3,000 euros (USD 330) and the atelier says there is no price limit. Sometimes clients ask for adornments made from gold or precious stones - others want original fabric from the 18th Century. The cost is infinite depending on requirements.
It's an expensive pastime for serious Carnival fans. According to the atelier these types of client would not allow themselves to be seen in the same costume more than once.
Often costumes are hired at a cost of 250 / 300 euros (USD 270 / 325) a day and are worn throughout the carnival. The bought costume is saved for special balls or the Mardi Gras Ball on the last night of Carnival.
"There is this necessity to be able to amaze the people coming to Venice and obviously, which is the best stage in Venice to do all this? The excuse ...the tradition of Carnival gives us these infinite possibilities. Over the years we've been able to create an historic, artistic and entertaining strand that combines all of these things," says Briggi.
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