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Travelling with Stabilo #8: Venice Carnival

经纬游踪 #8: 威尼斯嘉年华

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Held every year for the two weeks leading up to Lent (which is 40 days before Easter), the Venice Carnival is one of the most extravagant festivals in the world. Legend has it that the first Carnival dated back to 1162, and it became an annual event during the Renaissance. At that time, Venice was one of the richest and most powerful city states in Europe, and so the Carnival serves as to remind the world just how classy and extravagant the Venetians were. In the 18th century, the discovery of the New world and the improvement in naval technology meant that Venice lost its status as the trade hub between East and West, and its economy started to decline. The Venetians reacted by living as luxuriously as ever, and the Carnival became an even more outrageous indulgence, as the Venetians tried to drown away their sorrow with pleasure. During the Carnival, they would wear beautiful masks covering their true identity, and spent the nights away seeking pleasures without consequences.

威尼斯的嘉年华在每年二月份举行，为期两周，在基督教节日大斋节、復活节前四十天那天结束。嘉年华是个歴史悠久的节日，相传在公元1162年第一次举行，而在文艺复兴时期成为一年一度的盛会。当时威尼斯为欧洲数一数二的强国，而嘉年华则成为炫富耀国的好机会。到十八世纪，新大陸的发现和航海技术的发展使威尼斯经济开始衰退。为了掩饰没落的哀愁，威尼斯人开始大肆挥霍。特别在嘉年华的时候，带着華丽的面具，过着活色生香，花天酒地的盛宴。

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The tradition of wearing masks during the Carnival have stuck around until today. Every February, large number of tourists would flock to Venice wearing masks and 18th century gowns, and party away during the two weeks of Carnival. The Venetian City Council would also organise various Carnival events. In particular, the two weeks party reaches its climax with the events “Flight of the Angel” and the “Beautiful Mask” held on Lent. And we were lucky enough to be there.

During the Carnival, the whole of Venice seems to be one big giant party. Every shop is selling different masks, every few steps we would see Carnival decorations. Everywhere we looked there would be Confetti scattered on the ground. We were strolling along a street, and all of a sudden, music broke out in front of a grocery store. Within minutes people started gather around and just started dancing. The party spirit was so high that even me and my wife, shy as we were, wanted to join in. But I was worried about dropping my DSLR, so I decided against it.

在嘉年华带面具的传统一直流传到现在。每年到了二月份，大量游客会涌入威尼斯，穿着中世纪的衣服，带着面具，去参加这两星期的派对。在这两星期里，威尼斯市政府会举行各种活动。而节日的高潮就是在大斋节那天举行的天使飞翔仪式和最美面具的决赛。所以我们选择了在那几天去威尼斯。

在嘉年华期间，整个威尼斯都有着浓厚的派对气纷。每个小店都卖着面具，每走一会就看到节日的装饰。我们在小街上走着走着，突然听见一旁的超市把音乐打开，街上的人就开始围拢，然后就开始跟着节奏舞动起来。就连我和我媳妇这么內敛的人也想跳进去加入。可是想着我刚买的单反，还是算了。

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Everywhere we looked there would be people wearing masks. Some of them just have a simple mask that covered only their eyes, others wore full face masks along with matching medieval costumes. Even waiters at the restaurants were dressed up like dukes and duchesses. Some parents even dressed up their little ones. It is like the European version of Harajuku with medieval cosplay. The area where you would find the epicentre of this dress up party is St Mark’s Square at the centre of town. The St Mark’s square is a giant square situated between St Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace, and on a normal day it would be full of tourists queuing to admire the artefacts of the Basilica and the treasures in the Palace. When night falls, the Square stepped back in time and was filled with people dressed as though they were from the 18th century, dancing, chatting, and having fun. In fact, without a mask or a costume, we felt out of place. It felt like we just time travelled back to the middle ages.

在街上走的时候随时随地都可以看见带面具的人。很多人穿着中世纪的衣服在闲逛，就连餐厅的服务员也穿得像个伯爵。有些父母把他们的小不点也打扮起来了。这比日本原宿看的cosplay要热闹多了。这欧式cosplay的重災区是在威尼斯中心的圣马可广场。圣马可广场是圣马可大教堂和总督宫中间的大广场。通常在白天都是满满的游客排着隊去观赏大教堂的雄伟和总督宫里的珍藏。而在这个嘉年华的晩上, 广场上充斥着穿着各式各样的中世纪礼服，带着林林总总的面具的人，在跳舞，在聊天。感觉就像我们穿越了，回到了十八世纪的欧洲。没有面具的我们显得那么格格不入。

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In the early morning on Lent, St Mark’s Square was already filled with tourists standing in drizzle, waiting. Two events were going to take place here – the “Flight of the Angel”, and the “Beautiful Mask” finals. The “Beautiful Mask” is essentially a fashion contest, where participants are judged on their costumes and masks. Everyone is allowed to enter, and everyday over the two weeks a winner is selected to participate at the finals on Lent. The “Flight of the Angel” on the other hand is a traditional Carnival ceremony, where a famous person who has been selected to be the “Angel” of the year will be flying down from the Campanile to the centre of the Square at 12:00 noon. Both of these are important events – There was a stage built in the middle of the square for these events, and TV crews were seen covering the event.

At around 11:00 am, things started to stir. The ceremony was about to start. The first people that entered the stage was the finalists of the contest. They all dressed like royalties from the middle ages. Even their umbrellas were of the medieval style. After they entered in pairs, next up was the 12 Maidens. These were young women who were selected especially for the event, and they paraded around Venice before reaching the Square. They will be accompanying the last guest, the Angel from the previous year, to stand on stage to welcome the new Angel.

在大斋节的一早，圣马可广场上就已经充满着冒着小雨来看活动的游客。大斋节这一天有两个大型活动。一个是天使飞翔仪式，一个是最美面具决赛。最美面具就是一个在嘉年华的两星期每天举行的时装大赛。任何带了面具的人都可以参加。每天评审都从参赛者中选择打扮得最好的进入决赛，在大斋节这天角逐冠军。而天使飞翔仪式，则是嘉年华的传统活动，每年都会选一名天使，在正午十二点从广场钟楼顶上飞下来，降落到圣马可广场中心。这两个可是意大利的重要的活动，电视台也派了记者全天候直播。

大概十一点多，仪式开始了。首先进场的是进了决赛的参赛者。他们毎个都像中世纪的皇室成员，打扮得花枝招展，连雨伞也是复古式雨伞。在他们一对一对进场坐好后，跟着上场的是十二花女。十二花女是千挑万选的十二个少女。他们围绕着威尼斯城游行一圈，最后来到广场。他们将会陪同着最后嘉宾，去年的天使，一起去迎接新的天使。

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At 12 noon, people started appearing at the top of the Campanile, and there was this year’s Angel, a famous musician, dressed in feathered clothes, holding a guitar, ready to fly down to the Square. People cheered as he slid along the wire, descending onto the square, spreading confetti all around. The ceremony ended with two big confetti guns shooting confetti to the crowd like coloured snow.

十二点正，钟楼上出现了人影。天使飞翔马上要开始了。今年的天使是意大利一个出名的吉他手。他穿着一身彩色羽毛服，拿着吉他，在人们的喝彩声中从钟楼上滑下来。而仪式就在天使降临到广场上，向人们抛洒五彩纸下结束。

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After the ceremony, the “Beautiful Mask” contest continued, while we decided to go up the Campanile which is now open. From there we can see the whole of Venice, and have an aerial view of the big stage and the massive amount of people that was there for the event. There were a lot of people with beautiful costumes around the Square, posing for tourists and photographers. It looked like they were the ones that didn’t make it to the finals, but still wants their last moments of fun before the festival ends.

仪式结束后，最美面具决赛继续举行。而我们则登上了仪式后开放的钟楼看了一下广场的全景。广场旁边还是有很多中世纪打扮的人，应该是那些没有进决赛，可还是不甘心离开的人。他们摆着各种姿势，任由游客和摄影师拍摄。看来是不想浪费他们的妆容。

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Visiting Venice during the Carnival was an exciting experience. It was cold and damp, but the excitement and the festive atmosphere was really worth it.

在嘉年华时去威尼斯旅游真的是别有一番滋味。虽然二月份的威尼斯比较湿，比较冷，可是还是非常值得去的。

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