L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS apply another layer of a spe- cial black color and, with t h e h e l p o f s o m e c o t t o n wool, make sure it gets into the cracks of the varnish. Another common technique we use is "tarring" (bitu- mazione), a process invol- ving the use of wax to recrea- t e a g i n g o n n e w l y m a d e masks. 2005 sees the birth of Atelier Marega, a project that adds to mask hand- crafting also costume design and making, all inspired by the style and f a s h i o n o f t h e S e r e n i s s i m a ' s g o l d e n century, the 18th. Why h a v e y o u d e c i d e d t o embark in this new crea- t i v e a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l adventure? The sales of our masks had been on the rise, our atelier had become popular and many of our customers kept on asking whether we would produce period costu- mes, too. When my father Carlo understood there was, in fact, quite a market for it, he decided to give it a go and invest in costume making, too. Since then, we can truly say we are tied 100% to Venetian tradition. We make each costume oursel- ves, using only the most pre- cious, refined fabrics. Our s a r t o r i a l t e a m m a k e s bespoke pieces for sale and rent: and Atelier Marega works all year round, not only for Carnevale! I m u s t a d m i t y o u Casanova Grand Ball is quite intriguing: can you tell us more about it? The Casanova Grand Ball is a private costume event we have been organi- zing since 2013. It is always o n t h e l a s t w e e k e n d o f Carnevale (this year, it will b e o n S a t u r d a y , 2 2 o f February), as we like to con- clude all celebrations with o u r c u s t o m e r s a n d f a n s . There is a different theme every year, but we always o f f e r s h o w s , d a n c e s ( l i k e minuet, for instance) and entertainment. Of course, everything starts with the official welcoming of guests to the palace, followed by aperitivo and a lovely din- ner. The Casanova Grand Ball always takes place at Palazzo Ca'Zeno, which was built at the end of the 14th century. O n e l a s t q u e s t i o n : what's your relationship with the US? Are there many Marega masks on t h e o t h e r s i d e o f t h e pond? Actually, the vast majority of our costumers are from the States! As I said, we use Etsy, which is an American platform… So yes, we can say there are a lot of Marega masks on your side of the A t l a n t i c ! A m e r i c a n s a r e among our best and most loved customers, some of them have been with us for 20 years and became real friends, like Mitch and Tom, Don and Jerry, whom we met as clients and ended up becoming part of the family. They come visiting us in Venice almost every year! F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d t o s h o p A t e l i e r Marega's products: https://marega.it/en/ https://www.etsy.com/sh op/AtelierMaregaMask Continued from page 4 Carlo Marega at work (Photo: Iulia Manda) and some of the Atelier's costume and mask creations (Photo: Atelier Marega) Detail of a mask's decoration process at Atelier Marega (Photo: Atelier Marega)

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