Just Because

Venetian Masks

This one, purchased at Mondo Novo, is my favorite, but I have yet to wear it anywhere.
This one, purchased at Mondo Novo, is my favorite, but I have yet to wear it anywhere.

Tomorrow is the last day of Carnivale di Venezia and Mardi Gras, and it’s the perfect time to blog about my collection of gilded Venetian mementos. In 2001, I spent two weeks in Venice. One week to visit La Biennale di Venezia and one week to be the typical tourist in the old Venice. My first mask purchases were lame and touristy, but I finally discovered the real thing, Mondo Novo, in the Dorsoduro section of Venice. Several films have featured their creations with the most famous one being Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. In 2001, there was little information on the internet about the traditional Venetian mask, but if you were to do a google search today, there’s a plethora of sources. So now my little collection doesn’t seem so special anymore.