EXPLORE… Venice revisited
Harlequin, in his colourful chequered costume, and an elegant Venetian nobleman of the 18th century, holding hands with his wife and accompanied by a toddler dressed as the winged lion of Saint Mark’s throwing multi-coloured confetti, stand together in the picturesque Campo della Bragora. Then suddenly, from the end of a dark calle, a sinister figure holding a long stick approaches the square. He is wearing a black tunic, boots, gloves, a wide-brimmed hat and an elaborate white beaked mask with round glasses. Now one of the most recognisable masks of the Venetian Carnival, the Plague Doctor was once a real doctor visiting people struck by plague. The large, protruding beak of his mask was filled with various fragrances to stave off the foul odour of the sick, which was believed to be the trigger of the infection.
It is one of the last days of the Venice Carnival. The annual festival, which usually attracts around three million visitors, was turned on its head in 2020. The city had been busy, but the visitors were fewer than normal and there was a slightly anxious edge to the usually joyful and carefree carnival mood. Walking through the city you could spot the traditional costumes, elaborate masks and beautiful velvet gloves; however, there was a new accessory everywhere you looked. As well as a blue surgical mask, or a scarf to cover the face, velvet gloves had been replaced with disposable ones. They still threw colourful confetti in the air, but this act was followed by antibacterial gel being passed round like bottles of wine – it felt surreal.
Many locals have seen the huge drop in visitors as an opportunity to reclaim their city
As the number of
