Venetian_Mask

Venetian Mask Historically, masquerading was a shared practice among Venetians, regardless of whether they were wealthy, destitute, bold or even shy. Masked prostitutes would engage in the most reckless games of eroticism, and be certain that their anonymity would dissolve all accepted restraints. Aristocrats, who would usually go to great lengths not to disclose even a clue of their sexual preferences, were able to wear masks and star in acts that back then were not only sinful but also against the law. Even gamblers wore masks to remain anonymous, lest great personal wins and/or losses of money or possessions would not be known by the community. As you might imagine, for some, the wearing of masks was almost necessary! The Venice environment, because of its crowded city conditions, didn't really allow for much seclusion or solitude; individual anonymity or privacy was difficult to come by. Thus, the "mask" became an outlet for many to depart from the mainstream life they were leading. The average citizen found that by wearing a mask they could act like a stranger, revealing their real persona, which they normally kept to themselves to avoid being judged by others. Sadly, there were some greedy characters who would use to their benefit masks, even, wearing, venice, day, city, acts, year, venetians, venetian, until, throughout, services, periods, mask, great, engage, during, december, days, certain, carnival, being, anonymity, years, world, wore, wins, whether, well-known, wednesday, wear, weapons, wealthy, waste, voted