Ο έμπορος της Βενετίας-Ομάδα: The venice team

The Venice Team -Ο ρατσισμός στη Βενετία του 16ου αιώνα -Το καρναβάλι της Βενετίας στην εποχή του Shakespeare και η σύνδεσή του με το ζακυνθινό καρναβάλι

Society in the Italian 16th century -Social Stratification -Men, Women and Manners -Aliens

Social Stratification Like in all historical epochs people also in the Italian 16th century were divided into social groups according to their descent, economic, social, political and ideological background. Additionally, according to Max Weber social stratification is based on three factors, which are also obvious in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice”. Those are the Class, Status and Power. So comes that Jewish people living there, in spite of being wealthy (e.g. Shylock), lacked prestige and power.

However, there were the nobility on the top, who were the rich and powerful with large households (e.g.

Shakespeare’s Portia). Then the gentry -knights, squires, gentlemen and gentlewomen “who did not work with their hands for a living”. At this point it mustn’t be omitted that in Italy, the Roman Catholic Church strictly existed with its representatives belonging to the upper class and had gained great power so that popes, priests and clerks were interacting in political and social matters. Then there were the yeomanry, who had enough money to live but could at any time become poor (e.g. Shakespeare’s Antonio) - such were farmers, tradesmen and craft workers. At the very end of the social ranking were the poor, people who had to struggle daily to live- often disabled, sick, old or

wounded. There were also the aliens who were actually the outcasts of society not belonging to a social classification rank and the servants, who came from poor families but served richer people and lived at their masters’ houses.

In Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” there are examples indicating the different positions in society: Portia is part of the nobility, as she has a high status and is incredibly wealthy. Then there is Bassanio, also previous part of the aristocrats but one who made debts by living the high life and so fell to a lower class.

Antonio belongs to the yeomanry, as he is a merchant, but has a very high status due to him being popular.

Then bad luck comes to him, he loses his money and automatically falls low in the ranking. And Shylock is a Jew, rich through usury, who is hated, mistreated and mocked by the Venice society, not being accepted as a part of it.

In the sixth century, when people and especially the nobility had to behave and act in a specific way which was thought to be the right one, women had not the same rights as men and were very underestimated and lowly-thought-of.

Men’s Role To begin with, society was dominated by men, so men had many rights and much freedom and were the ones making all decisions in issues concerning family, politics, society, economy. They could do any job from the politician’s to the fisherman’s and when they had

reached an age of maturity (about 26 years), they would choose from a specific class whom they wanted to be their wife. Popular outdoor activities for men were hunting, hawking, fishing, archery, cockfighting and tennis.

Women’s Role On the contrary, women were submissive to men. They were not allowed to do any job and if they wanted to work outside of home they had to make do with contributing through artisan and tradecraft practices(if belonging to a low class) or as catalysts and donors in the maintenance of charitable hospices(if they belonged to the upper class). Moreover, they were believed to marry at a very young age but most are proved to have married at about the age of 23 years.

They had no right to choose their future husbandinstead they married whom their parents wanted to in order to increase the family’s economic situation. The dowry offered to the future husbands was often the real reason for marrying a woman. Once they became wives, ”women were widely viewed as emblems of Catholic morality, serving primarily as matriarchs of the domestic household. They were instructed and expected to become devoted mothers, and to rear and raise their children as proper Christians.” They were responsible for the children, the household, the farms and gardens and “were forced to suppress their individual needs and desires to their husband’s, all in the name of rationality and civic decorum. “ The ideal characteristics of a potential future wife were her

heritage, beauty and moral. A beauty model would have curly blond hair, pale skin, red lips and cheeks, blue eyes and would not be extremely thin, as this was considered to be a sign of poverty. Education was allowed to daughters of well off families but not always provided to them and an educated woman could be at times badly thought-of. However, it was important for a female to have musical and embroidering skills.

Behaviour- Manners Back then people of a higher class would have to behave in a certain way with respect. They had to stand straight with the head up always looking as perfect as statues. The way they spoke was also extremely different than the way we speak nowadays.

They would for example call a familiar face also with titles like “signor”, “my dear”, “sir” and their speech was in most cases careful with appropriate words and fine vocabulary.

Aliens In Italy of the 16th century appear many different cultures to meet together. One important reason for that happening is the trading connection Italy had with nations all over the world. This brings especially people living in the Mediterranean Sea in its ports. So comes, for example,-like in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice”- that many Jews even live in Venice. However, they seem not to be treated as coequal and live socially excluded. The reasons for that are their different religious beliefs, their different appearance and

cultural dissimilarities. Foreigners were regarded with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion and were associated with prejudice. They were marveled at and thought as ugly, evil, murderous, sexually avid, ruthless etc. Thus, they were outcasts of society, struggling daily for their lives, suffering also psychologically as they faced extreme racist behavior (e.g. they were spit at).

The History of Jews in Venice While Jews did not settle in Venice until the 13th century, many Jewish merchants and moneylenders visited and worked in the city beginning with the 10th century. Jews were mentioned in documents in 945 and 992 forbidding Venetian captains from accepting Jews onboard their ships. In 1252, Jews were not allowed to settle in the main part of the city, so they settled on the island of Spinaulunga (also spelled Spinalonga) which later became Giudecca.

In 1290, Jewish merchants and moneylenders were allowed to work in Venice, but were forced to pay a special tax of five percent on all their import and export transactions. The Jewish moneylenders received permission to settle in the city in 1385. They were given a piece of land to be used as a Jewish cemetery in 1386.

The Senate decided to expel the Jews from the city in 1394 due to fears of Jewish encroachment in certain economic spheres. They were allowed to work in the city for limited twoweek intervals. Those who were not moneylenders were allowed to remain in the city, albeit with certain restrictions. Jews were forced to wear various markings on their clothing to identify themselves as Jews. In 1394 they had to wear a yellow

badge; it was changed to a yellow hat in 1496 and to a red hat in 1500. Other anti-Jewish laws included the prohibition against owning land (enacted in 1423) and from building a synagogue (enacted in 1426). On occasion, Jews were forced to attend Christian services or become baptized. Anti-Jewish feelings were prevalent and three Jews died in a blood libel in 1480 and more died after another libel in 1506.

Despite the harsh economic hardships, Jewish culture was allowed to develop to a certain degree. Daniel Bomber, known as Aldo Manuzio (1449-1515), the first Italian printer, used Hebrew fonts in his publications. This marked an increased open-mindedness toward Jewish culture among Venetian and Italian intellectuals.

Venice received an influx of immigrants from Spain and Portugal following the expulsion in 1492. Isaac Abravanel was one of the well-known Sephardic immigrants who came during this period.

The Ghetto In 1516, the doges, Venice’s ruling council, debated whether Jews should be allowed to remain in the city. They decided to let the Jews remain, but their residence would be confined to Ghetto Nuova, a small, dirty island; it became the world’s first ghetto. The word “ghetto” is from the Italian getto meaning “casting” or Venetian “geto” meaning “foundry.”

Jews of Italian and German origin moved into this ghetto. The latter came to Venice because of persecution in their communities, while the former came from Rome and from the South, where they faced anti-Semitism.

Jews from the Levant, who practiced Sephardic traditions, moved into Ghetto Vecchio in 1541. The Spanish and Portuguese Jews also came to Venice in the late 16th century and were the strongest and wealthiest community in the ghetto. Many of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews were Marranos and became “Jewish� again once moving to Venice. The Spanish/Portuguese and Levantines lived in the Ghetto Vecchio.

The German, Italian and Levantine communities were independent, yet lived side by side to one another. A hierarchy existed among them, in which the Sephardic (Spanish and Portuguese)/Levantine Jews were at the top of the scale, Germans in the middle and Italians at the lowest rank.

Further restrictions were placed on Jews living in the ghetto.

They were only allowed to leave during the day and were locked inside at night. Jews were only permitted to work at pawn shops, act as money lenders, work the Hebrew printing press, trade in textiles or practice medicine. Detailed banking laws kept their interest rates low and made life difficult for many of the poor pawnbrokers and moneylenders.

Once they left the ghetto they still had to wear distinguishing clothing, such as a yellow circle or scarf. Jews were faced with high taxes and the Talmud was burned in 1553, due to arguments between two Venetian printing companies. Hebrew books were not allowed to print for the next thirteen years, however, the Jewish printing press and publishing companies continued to thrive until the early 19th century.

One period that was particularly difficult for Venetian Jews was during the 1570's, after the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. The Jews were blamed for the war and expulsion threats were made. The German and Italian Jews survived the war by making

financial concessions. They decreased their interest rate to five percent per annum, the price they had to pay for stable residence in the ghetto. This was a major setback; however, the Jews were able to recover.

Despite the poor living conditions, Jewish community life continued to grow inside the ghetto. Life centered on Jewish ritual and customs and the celebration of the Sabbath. The Ashkenazic Jews built two synagogues on the top floors of the ghetto building, the Scola Grande Tedesca in 1528-29 and the Scola Canton in 1531. The Levantine Jews, who had more money, built an extravagant synagogue in 1575 and it was housed in its own building in Ghetto Vecchio. The Spanish Jews built a synagogue in 1584. Jews were also able to build their own free school, the only one in Venice. Christians came to the ghetto to visit Jewish banks, doctors or shop for spices, jewellery and fabrics.

The 17th century was the period of the ghetto’s golden age; Jewish commerce and scholarship flourished. Jews controlled much of Venice’s foreign trade by the mid-1600s. The Sephardic groups gained influence and wealth in the Venetian economy. The residents of the Ghetto Nuovo also began to have greater economic stability and began participating in maritime trade, which had before only been allowed for those in Ghetto Vecchio.

The commercial activity of the ghetto was halted during the plague that spread throughout Europe in 1630-31 and hit the Jewish community of Venice in the summer of 1630. An estimated 450 Jews lost their lives to the plague and many merchants left the city. The end of the plague was marked by public ceremonies and fasts. The Jewish community recovered and they opened new prayer and study halls. The ghetto’s boundaries were extended and the Nuovissimo ghetto was

opened to house wealthy Jewish residents.

In this period, Venice was home to many famous physicians who later served the Queen of France, the royal Court in Spain and figures such as Pope Paul III. Famous personalities included, Rabbi Simone Luzzato, who served as Venice’s rabbi for 50 years. Luzzato published the Discorso circa il stato dell’Hebrei (Discourse on the State of the Jews), which examined the social and political conditions of Jews in a non-Jewish environment.

Another famous personality was Rabbi Leon da Modena.

Modena’s writings include poetry, several dictionaries, commentaries on the Bible, the Sur Meda and a tractate against gambling. A third famous personality was Sara Coppio Sullam, who was one of the ghetto’s leading poets, she held a salon that drew many educated men and aristocrats.

Venice was the centre for Jewish knowledge and learning for many Sephardic Jews. Venetian Sephardic scholars travelled from Venice to start new communities in London and Amsterdam. Venice also served as a centre for Kabbalah in the early 18th century. One of the community’s most influential Kabbalists was Rabbi Mosheh Zacuto, who was active from 1645-1673.

The economic conditions for Jews deteriorated at the end of the 17th century. Anti-Jewish feelings were prevalent in the 18th century and limitations were placed on Jewish economic activity. The Jewish population decreased from 4,800 in 1655 to 1,700 in 1766 because many prominent families left for Leghorn or other port cities. Taxes were extremely stiff and Jewish ship owners and merchants lost their shops between 1714-1718. Finally in 1737, the Jewish community had to declare bankruptcy.

Shylock presents a difficult problem for many modern audiences and critics. Is he a stereotypical "Jew," or is he a sympathetic figure intended to criticize the anti-Semitism of Shakespeare's time?

We can say with certainty that Shylock is not without motivation.

His treatment at the hands of the Christian merchants is decidedly un-Christian: they spit on him, call him a dog, and finally take half his money and force him to convert. All this in spite of Shylock's famous plea for sympathy: Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affectations, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same summer and winter as a Christian is? If you prick us do we not bleed?

(3.1.50-4)

Shylock and Portia: two aliens in the same city Shylock, the Outsider of Venice, is most precisely fixed within the structure of the play by his confrontation with that other outsider, Portia of Belmont, and she is, in turn, illuminated by the obstinate opposite she faces. Their conflicts and contiguities (for they have those as well) are the main focus of the entire play. Shylock has paid three thousand ducats to feed his revenge, to purchase the death of the man he hates; Portia offers more than thrice that sum to deface his deadly bond, to rescue her husband's dearest friend.

Both Portia and Shylock are using money as a means, but to very different ends. Portia uses money as Antonio has used it,

to secure the happiness of those around her: her wealth now sustains the prodigal Bassanio, and her house shelters both Shylock's thrown away servant and his runaway daughter.

Portia's wealth means an expansion of possibilities, a musical movement through life that may at times catch brief echoes (even in "this muddy vesture of decay") of that purer music which sounds in the heavens.

Shylock's Puritan attitudes link him with Jaques and Malvolio (not to mention Angelo in Measure for Measure), and for Shakespeare's theatre audience mark him more clearly as a villain than his Jewishness does. His puritanical thrift means shutting up himself in a dark house where friendship, festival, love, and music find their way only as intruders, garish masks glimpsed in the streets or discordant noises heard from far away.

But just for a moment before Shylock's final discomfiture, we are given a chance to see the similarities between the lady and the miser. They are, after all, tied together in several strange ways. Portia has obeyed her father's will in a manner that Shylock would certainly approve and by means which he has indirectly supplied. His money made her combination of obedience and happiness possible. There is a curious circle here: Antonio's bond and Shylock's ducats freed Portia from her bond; now, she comes in her turn to release both Antonio and Shylock.

Indeed, in her role as Balthazar she is closer to Shylock than to Antonio. She is an outsider in the society of Venice, an actress playing a new and unfamiliar part. And more than that, she is an alien--a woman in a world of men, an intruder who has less right to be in the court than Shylock has. This is an aspect of the situation that a twentieth century auditor can easily miss, but surely an Elizabethan would have found the figure of

a female judge more outlandish than any masculine intruder.

So, when Portia says, "Then must the Jew be merciful" (4.1.181), she is one alien speaking to another, appealing to their common humanity, pointing to the possible perils that may pierce it, and arguing that all such fragile souls stand in need of compassion. We do not, of course, expect Shylock to penetrate her disguise; even if his own blindness would permit it, the stage convention will not. We hope, however, that he will see through himself. But like Jaques in As You Like It, he responds only to those things which chime with his own unmusical pose. Like Malvolio, he insists on revenge. Balthazar is a wise young judge when he upholds the bond, but Shylock ignores him when he strays from that comfortable text.

Instead, Shylock plunges on, to demand the letter of the law, to draw his deeds literally on his own head, and to be forced to accept what he had refused to give--a grudging mercy. Even the last act, with Shylock absent, continues the comparisons between the two. Portia forgives and loves Bassanio, aristocratic representative of a Christian patriarchal order that excludes her in much the same way that it shuts out the Jew.

Carnival of Venice

The Carnival of Venice (Italian: Carnevale di Venezia) is an annual festival, held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival starts 58 days before Easter and ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. "A carnevale, ogni scherzo vale!" In other words, "At a carnival, every joke goes!"

History It is said that the Carnival of Venice was originated from a victory of the "Repubblica della Serenissima", Venice's previous name, against the Patriarch of Aquileia, Ulrico in the year 1162. In the honor of this victory, the people started to dance and make reunions in San Marco Square. Apparently this festival started on that period and became official in the renaissance.

After a long absense, the carnival returned to operate in 1979.The Italian government decided to bring back the history and culture of Venice, and sought to use the traditional Carnival as the centerpiece of their efforts. Today, approximately 3,000,000 visitors come to Venice each day for Carnivals. One of the most important events is the contest for the best mask,

placed at the last weekend of the Carnival. A jury of international costume and fashion designers votes for "La Maschera piu bella". Here are the first prize winners of the last years: •

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2012 : "Teatime" (il servizio da tè del settecento)

by Horst Raack; also, the first prize for the special category "Most Inventive Costume" to Jacqueline Spieweg from Germany for "Oceano".

2011 : "La Famille Fabergé" by Horst Raack, shared with "Omaggio a Venezia" by Paolo and Cinzia Pagliasso and Anna Rotonai; also, the first prize for the special category 19th century to Lea Luongsoredju and Roudi Verbaanderd from Belgium 2010 : "Pantegane" from Great Britain 2009 : "The Voyages of Marco Polo" by Horst Raack and Tanja Schulz-Hess from Germany 2008 : "Luna Park" by Tanja Schulz-Hess 2007 : "La Montgolfiera" by Tanja Schulz-Hess

Venetian carnival masks Masks have always been a central feature of the Venetian carnival; traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's Day, December 26) and the start of the carnival season and midnight of Shrove Tuesday. They have always been around Venice. As masks were also allowed on Ascension and from October 5 to Christmas, people could spend a large proportion of the year in

disguise. Maskmakers (mascherari) enjoyed a special position in society, with their own laws and their own guild.

Venetian masks can be made in leather or with the original glass technique. The original masks were rather simple in design and decoration often had a symbolic, and practical function. Nowadays, most of them are made with the application of gesso and gold leaf and are all hand-painted using natural feathers and gems to decorate.

Masks at the Carnival of Venice. Bauta on the left.

Bauta

Bauta (sometimes referred to as ba첫tta) is the whole face, with a stubborn chin line, no mouth, and lots of "gilding". One may find masks sold as Bautas that cover only the upper part of the face from the forehead to the nose and upper cheeks, thereby concealing identity but enabling the wearer to talk and eat or drink easily.

It tends to be the main type of mask worn during the Carnival. It was used also on many other occasions as a device for hiding the wearer's identity and social

status. It would permit the wearer to act more freely in cases where he or she wanted to interact with other members of the society outside the bounds of identity and everyday convention. It was thus useful for a variety of purposes, some of them illicit or criminal, others just personal, such as romantic encounters.

In 18th century, the Bauta had become a standardized society mask and disguise was regulated by the Venetian government. It was obligatory to wear it at certain political decision-making events when all citizens were required to act anonymously. Only citizens had the right to use the Bauta. Its role was similar to the anonymizing processes invented to guarantee general, direct, free, equal and secret ballots in modern democracies.

It was not permitted to wear weapons along with the mask, and police had the right to enforce this ruling.

Volto or Larva The "Volto" was the more common mask used in Venice for centuries. Volto means "face", and it was the simplest mask to produce.

Mask-makers

The mascherari, or mask-makers had their own statute dated 10 April 1436. They belonged to the fringe of painters and were helped in their task by sign-painters who drew faces onto plaster in a range of different shapes and paying extreme attention to detail.

ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ

ΖΑΚΥΝΘΙΝΟΥ

ΚΑΡΝΑΒΑΛΙΟΥ

Το καρναβάλι ξεκίνησε στη Ζάκυνθο την εποχή της Βενετσιάνικης κυριαρχίας. Στην αρχή ήταν αντιγραφή του περίφημου Βενετσιάνικου Καρναβαλιού, με την πάροδο του χρόνου όμως, απέκτησε το δικό του ξεχωριστό χρώμα, χωρίς βέβαια να αποκοπεί ποτέ από τις ρίζες του. Τα παλαιότερα χρόνια άρχιζε την επομένη της Γιορτής

των Φώτων, στις 7 του Γενάρη και κρατούσε ως και τα μεσάνυχτα της Κυριακής της Τυροφάγου αργότερα όμως η Ιόνιος Κυβέρνηση τo περιόρισε στις δύο τελευταίες εβδομάδες της Αποκριάς. Τις μέρες του Καρναβαλιού επιτρεπόταν η προσωπιδοφορία και οι γυναίκες (μάσκαρες) καθώς και οι άντρες (ντετόροι) μεταμφιεσμένοι και φορώντας μάσκα (μωρέττα), γύριζαν στους δρόμους και στις πλατείες, επισκέπτονταν συγγενικά και φιλικά σπίτια και κατέληγαν στα Καζίνα, στις Καβαρκίνες και τα Φεστίνια όπου γίνονταν χοροί. Παράλληλα, ο απλός λαός έδινε στις γειτονιές του υπαίθριες θεατρικές παραστάσεις που ονομάζονταν «Ομιλίες» και με αυτόν τον τρόπο διασκέδαζε. Το Ζακυνθινό καρναβάλι τελείωνε το απόγευμα της Κυριακής της Τυροφάγου με την Κηδεία της Μάσκας. Τα μεσάνυχτα ακριβώς, όλες οι καμπάνες των εκκλησιών χτυπούσαν ρυθμικά 365 πένθιμες καμπανιές και ειδοποιούσαν τους Ζακυνθινούς πως το καρναβάλι τελείωσε και μπήκε η Σαρακοστή. ΒΕΝΕΤΣΙΑΝΙΚΟΣ ΑΙΩΝΑΣ

ΓΑΜΟΣ

ΣΤΟ

ΤΖΑΝΤΕ,

16ος

Ο Βενετσιάνικος Γάμος τελείται το απόγευμα του τελευταίου Σαββάτου της Αποκριάς. Πρόκειται για μια λαογραφική εθιμοτυπική παράσταση, ένα δρώμενο που προκαλεί την φαντασία μας και μας μεταφέρει στον 16ο αιώνα, σε έναν γάμο Ζακυνθινών ευγενών. Η μεγαλειώδης πομπή του Βενετσιάνικου Γάμου διασχίζει το ιστορικό κέντρο της πόλης και καταλήγει στην πλατεία του Αγ.

Μάρκου, όπου τελείται ο γάμος. Στη συνέχεια ακολουθεί γαμήλιο γλέντι με αναγεννησιακούς χορούς και προσφέρονται παραδοσιακά ζακυνθινά γαμήλια κεράσματα, όπως κουφέτα, ορτζάδες και παντόλες. Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι η εντυπωσιακή Γαμήλια πομπή ανοίγει με τυμπανιστές και σημαιοφόρους. Ακολουθούν οι νεόνυμφοι και οι κοντινοί συγγενείς τους. Η νόνα (γιαγιά) μεταφέρεται μέσα σε λεντίκα (κλειστό φορείο εξαιρετικής τέχνης μέσα στο οποίο μετέφεραν τους ευγενείς) ενώ ακολουθούν τα σεντούκια της νύφης με τα προικιά. Την πομπή πλαισιώνουν οι προσκεκλημένοι, οι οποίοι φορούν ακριβή αντίγραφα στολών του 16ου αιώνα, ενώ κορίτσια κρατούν κάνιστρα με ροδοπέταλα και μπομπονιέρες. Από τα μεγάφωνα της πόλης μας ακούγεται αναγεννησιακή μουσική καθόλη τη διάρκεια της πομπής μεταφέροντάς μας έτσι σε καιρούς αλλοτινούς και αγαπημένους ΓΚΙΟΣΤΡΑ Η περίφημη Γκιόστρα είναι αγώνες ιπποδρομίας οι οποίοι αποτελούσαν επίσημο γεγονός της αριστοκρατικής τάξης. Όσοι ήθελαν να αγωνιστούν παρουσιάζονταν ενώπιον των Συνδίκων και αναγράφονταν σε ειδικά βιβλία από τον ορισμένο γραμματέα. Στον δρόμο για το αγώνισμα ακολουθούσαν την σειρά της εγγραφής τους. Ένας σαλπιγκτής ανήγγειλε την έναρξη του αγωνίσματος με ιδιαίτερα λαμπρό τρόπο. Όλοι οι ιππείς έπρεπε να είναι ντυμένοι με λαμπρά και επίσημα ρούχα. Αν κανείς αργοπορούσε μέχρι το τέλος του πρώτου δρόμου, δεν μπορούσε να λάβει μέρος στο αγώνισμα. Μεγάλη προσοχή όφειλαν να δείχνουν οι αγωνιστές, φροντίζοντας να μη

φύγει το πόδι τους από τους αναβολείς και να μην τους πέσει το ξίφος ή το καπέλο. Οι αγώνες της Γκιόστρας γίνονταν με επιτυχία μέχρι και το 1739. Την επόμενη χρονιά άρχισαν όλες οι προετοιμασίες, αλλά λόγω του φόνου του συνδίκου Πέτρου Μακρή δεν πραγματοποιήθηκαν. Αυτό στην ουσία ήταν και το τέλος τους. Το νεοσυσταθέν πολιτιστικό σωματείο «Festa Mascarata» ξαναφέρνει στην επιφάνεια την Γκιόστρα και αναβιώνουν με μεγαλοπρεπή τρόπο οι έφιπποι αυτοί αγώνες ακολουθώντας πιστά το τελετουργικό της εποχής εκείνης. Επίσης, η αμφίεση των συμμετεχόντων αποτελεί πιστή αντιγραφή της εποχής εκείνης και το όλο σκηνικό συνθέτει ένα δρώμενο που μας μεταφέρει στην μαγεία και τον ρομαντισμό του 16ου αιώνα. ΠΟΒΕΡΟ ΚΑΡΝΑΒΑΛΙ - ΚΗΔΕΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΜΑΣΚΑΣ Την τελευταία Κυριακή της Αποκριάς μετά την καρναβαλική παρέλαση, αργά το απόγευμα πραγματοποιείται η Κηδεία της Μάσκας η οποία αποτελεί ένα ιστορικό σατιρικό δρώμενο του νησιού μας με το οποίο κλείνει η αυλαία του καρναβαλιού μας. Μπροστά βρίσκεται η μπάντα η οποία παιανίζει πένθιμα αλλά και καρναβαλικά! Πίσω τα καπίτουλα με τα φαναράκια, πιο κάτω το χρωματιστό φέρετρο του καρνάβαλου και στο φινάλε η «θλιμμένη» οικογένεια με την τραγική φιγούρα της χήρας μέσα στα μαύρα να "χτυπιέται από πόνο και οδύνη"! Οι επιρροές τόσο της αρχαίας τραγωδίας όσο και της δυτικής σατιρικής τέχνης είναι ξεκάθαρες. Στο φινάλε η πομπή μετά την τελευταία βόλτα στους δρόμους της πόλης

καταλήγει στο λιμάνι όπου ο Βασιλιάς Καρνάβαλος καίγεται με το φέρετρο του ανοιχτά στο πέλαγος. Εκείνη τη στιγμή η νύχτα γίνεται μέρα από τα πυροτεχνήματα ενώ φωτισμένες γόνδολες περιβάλλουν τη μεγαλειώδη κηδεία!

ΠΗΓΕΣ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia University of Victoria Library. www.reocities.com www. jstor.org/ www.kathimerini.com.cy