Venetian masquerade

I can't believe how lucky I was to check out the 2013 Carnavale in Venice - what a spectacle and experience! On certain days there are organized events for the masqueraders. On this day, Thursday, 7 February, there was a big gathering at the Santa Maria della Salute - so many photo ops - and great weather too - life is good!

Venice Carnival

Explore Carlos Echenique's 6341 photos on Flickr!

Venetian masks are a centuries-old tradition of Venice, Italy and are typically worn during the Carnival but have been used on many other occasion. They were used to hide the wearer's identity and social status allowing the wearer to act more freely in case where he or she wanted to interact with other members of the society outside the bounds of identity and everyday convention. Lets have a look at some of them below: Lastly, if you want to get your hands on some of the mask to go to a…