L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 4 Carnevale can save us: a naughty elf, Venice and why a smile is the key of Italy's traditions The Carnevale di Venezia is known for the striking artistry of its masks © Maurizio Fabbro | Dreamstime.com LUCA FERRARI Continued to page 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS The Mazzariol: traditional figure of Veneto's lore, it embodies the spirit of Carnevale Yesterday as today, both men and women dressed up for Carnevale, their costumes often rich and colorful© Adina Nani | Dreamstime.com A masked parade on the w aters of V enice's canals . The D oge's ball. Thousands of masks walking around the city. From the party on the Rio del Cannare- gio to the parade in Piazza San Marco, where one can see the most beautifully refined cos- tumes. This is the Carnevale di Venezia, and we know it. But among the well known and loved colors of the city at Carnival time, there are other hidden tra- ditions, curious legends charac- terized by the pres ence of a naughty elf, who would put to s hame even s ome of Carlo G old oni's mos t outrageous comedies. We're talking about the Massariol, or Mazariol, an elf that calls the left bank of the Piave river home. He is particu- larly fond of the w oods and forests of the Bellunese, one of the areas Venetians love the most. How to recognize him? A red hood and cloak, long hair, a beard and a natural inclination to play tricks. No malice in his work, though: just a simple, hon- est playful nature. In many ways, the Massariol embodies the very spirit and heart of Carnevale, a spirit that runs well deeper than dressing up and playing tricks to your neighbor. Think about it: the behavior of this ancient leg- endary figure, his passion for laughters and jokes, is mirror to Italy's mos t popular of Carnevale's s ayings : A Carnevale ogni scherzo vale, everything goes at Carnevale. But the association between this time of late-winter celebra- tions and laughter go further back in time than the creation of the Massariol legend, of Doge's regulations and, w ould you believe it, even of our Roman ancestors' pagan habits. To say it better, it refers to some of their lesser known rituals and mores, those that even historians may have forgotten about. You see, the Greeks and the Romans us ed to w ors hip G helus and Risus, divinities of laughter and smiling, because laughing was synonym with fertility and was believed to foresee good fortune. That was the reason why, with a pinch of wisdom and a handful of humor, our ancestors used to say the gods created the world with their laughter. What a beautiful image this is, when you think about it. Let's say something more about the history of Carnevale, though: the firs t documents attesting its origins date back to the year 1000. They explain that the Doge had decided to offer two months of celebrations to the city, in the hope of giving to the poores t V enetians s ome respite from hardship and more stamina to endure further mis- ery. It wasn't a new idea, mind. That w as exactly w hat the ancient Romans used to do with their Panem et Circensem, as good old Juvenal would say: the Roman demagogical practice of distributing free or very cheap wheat to the poorest of the poor, and to organize grandiose games and festivals to sweeten the pain and continuous struggling of their lives. Little by little, this once-off celebration became tradition and part of Venice's own life: a

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