Common Costumes

Venetian Inspired Costumes

Bauta - Bautta

This mask and disguise is a standard one used to hide sex and identity.  The big chinned mask hides the whole face but allows for conversation but with the voice masked too.  The cape covers the whole body, and the hat covers the head and hairstyle. 

The costume called Larva, is a costume similar to the Bauta, but the mast is white, with the rest of the costume all in black.  This makes the wearer look like a ghost roaming the misty streets of Venice.

This is the Larva.

Fracanapa - Facanapa

This is a particularly Venetian character, a seeming combination of the Commedia dell'Arte characters of Pantalone and the Captain.  Fracanapa is an old Venetian or Veronese merchant, avaricious, a glutton, coward, liar, boaster but who outwardly shows great bonhomie.  He's a common character in the marionette and puppet theatres of Venice.

He's usually depicted as a dwarf in the puppet theatres, wearing black knee britches, white stockings , a 3-cornered hat and a long black coat.  The Carnival costume for Fracanapa has a parrot's beak for a nose, green glasses, a red tie, a white jacket, and the big hat.

Plague Doctor - Medico

Taken from Venice's plague afflicted past, this costume mimics the doctors who roamed Venice determining which patients were doomed and destined for the plagued body dumping ground on a nearby island. 

The big nose was filled with herbs thought to protect the doctor from contracting the disease.  As the disease was passed by the bite of fleas, the mask in reality served only to protect the doctor from the unpleasant odors of the city and the dead and dying. 

At the peak of the plague, which hit Venice, a sea-faring nation, first in Europe, 2/3 of the inhabitants of Venice died, decimating the city-state and dooming it to lose it's prominent place in the world of trade and finance.

The Doctor, or Dottore, is also a Commedia dell'Arte character.  He is a Bolognese University trained doctor who is learned and respected by others, but who in reality is foolish, ill-educated as seen by his mangling of the language, and prone to pointless, learned debates while his patients die.  He is known by many names, including Graziano and Balanzone, but the character is always the same.

Bernadon

Bernadon is a victim of the plague with bloody sores and all, blood soaked rags, and a wooden leg. 

He is also said to be suffering from syphilis, or as the Italians liked to call it, the Mal Francese.  The French liked to call it the Mal Napolitaine because Naples was the first city in Europe to suffer from the virulent strain that arrived from the newly discovered Americas, via the sexually rapacious sailors who had been there. 

The new syphilis strain decimated Europe over the centuries, causing still-births, infertility, chronic illness, early death, and debilitating growths on the genitals.  More than the plague, which came and went without any explanation they could discover, syphilis was the AIDS of that time, passed on by sexual contact. 

Until the discovery of antibiotics at the end of WWI, syphilis was treated mainly with mercury.  That's why there was a well-known saying: 'Spend one night with Venus (a prostitute); spend a lifetime with mercury.'

Mute Female Servant - Serva Muta - Moretta

Women can hide not only their face and body with this costume, but also their voice, as the mask has no hole for the mouth.  The cape has a hood, rather than have the woman wear a man's hat.  Women disguised as men were not approved of, and actually forbidden by law.

La Gnaga

This mask and accompanying costume is for a man to impersonate a woman.  Most times a costume allows for impersonation, the impersonation is used to ridicule the people being impersonated.  This was the case with the Gnaga.  Men dressed as women and behaved badly, to make fun of women.

Sior Tonin Bonagrazia

This is a foolish Venetian merchant, who played a character in Venetian Commedia dell'Arte shows as well as puppet and marionette theatres.  He's very similar to Pantalone (see below) of the Commedia dell'Arte.

Mattacino

This is another costume used to attack women.  Dressed as a clown in a white or multi-colored costume, with a feathered hat, these men considered themselves jokesters.  They would roam Venice pummeling women with blown egg shells filled with rose water.  They were outlawed at one point.

Domino - Priest - Prelate

This costume impersonates a priest, so the wearer can make fun of religious figures, who in Old Venice ruled society with a repressive, and often hypocritical, hand.

Doge

The Doge was the head of the Republic of Venice's government.  I somehow doubt he was allowed to be ridiculed during Old Carnival!

Fantasy Characters

Fantasy costumes are usually full face and body costumes that transform the person into an animal or fantasy creature full of plumes of feathers, fur, and other props.  Some of the popular fantasy characters are/were cavemen (uomo selvatico is also a Commedia dell'Arte character, above), jokers, lions, birds.  The posters and prints you see here on this page of elaborate costumes are all fantasy characters.

Commedia dell'Arte Inspired Characters

This uniquely Italian theatre was known throughout Europe for hundreds of years as Commedia Italiana.  Stock characters peopled traveling theatrical troupes, which performed a repertoire  of comic and melodramatic plays for courts, private merchant families and for the public.  Sometimes the characters took on different names but the characteristics and costumes remained the same so they were easily recognizable to the audiences.

A theatre troupe would have a Zilbaldone or Generici, a book of prepared speeches, scenes (lazzi), songs, dances, riddles, complicated insults (ingiurie), burlesques (burle), expressions, costumes and props associated with each stock character.  These would be interwoven at will by the actors as they fleshed out the basic storyline, improvising whatever was needed, or whatever the crowd seemed to enjoy most.  No two performances were the same. 

Many of these characters were depicted in the popular marionette shows in appropriately sized theatres (Teatrino delle marionette) and in the puppet shows on the streets of Venice (Teatro dei burattini).  Visit my page of reminiscences by a traveler to Venice in the 1860s for what these theatres were like.

These are some common Commedia dell'Arte characters.  (For children:  the SimonRossi.it site has coloring pages of many of these characters.)

Decadent Old Merchant - Pantalone dei Bisognosi

He is one of the oldest characters known, originally as Il Magnifico, who together with the First Servant, would entertain people in the streets for money from passers-by.  He is a Venetian merchant, old master, who is pompous and foolish, rich and miserly, an indulgent father or a sexual predator of young women.  He's known also as Cassandro, Zenobbio, Magnifico, Tartaglia (half-blind and stuttering), Tabbarino, Sior Tonin Bonagrazia (a very foolish Venetian).

This is an image of Cassandro.

And an image of the half-blind and stuttering Tartaglia.

Il Dottore - The Doctor

He is a Bolognese University trained doctor who is learned and respected by others, but who in reality is foolish, ill-educated as seen by his mangling of the language, and prone to pointless, learned debates while his patients die.  He is known by many names, including Graziano and Balanzone and Boloardo, but the character is always the same.

First Zanni - First Servant - Brighella

Traditionally in a theatrical troupes, and in most plays they performed, there was a First Servant (Primo Zanni) who was scheming, more clever than his master, semi-serious, poor, illiterate, from Bergamo, and a busy-body.  He went by many names, but most commonly by Brighella, Mazzetino, Giangurgolo, Gioppino, Tabarino, Pedrolino, Fritellino or Pierrot which is a later, more romantic version of the same character.

Here's an image of Mazzetino.

This is an image of Fritellino.

This is Tabbarino.

Second Zanni - Second Servant - Arlecchino

 There was also a Second Servant (Secondo Zanni) who was stupid, foolish, poor, easily distracted, easily provoked into a fight, from Bergamo, sometimes carrying a stick, and always hungry.  This character is generally called Arlecchino (Pulcinella is the Neapolitan version from which comes the English puppet character Punch), but is also known as Francatrippa, Polichinelle, Truffadino, Girandolaio, BeppeNappa (Sicilian version), Trivellino, Stentarello (Florentine version) or Burattino. 

This is an image of the Neapolitan Pulcinella.

Here's an image of the Sicilian BeppeNappa.

Here is an image of Florentine Stenterello.

A variation of Arlecchino popular in Venice puppet theatres was the psychopathic character with the billy-club or night-stick who beat people to death after befriending them, in sang-froid, or cold-bloodedly, feeling no remorse what-so-ever.  Other character in this same vein if a bit milder at times, are Ruzante, Macco, Fagiolino (Bologna, Dosseno, and Punch in England).

This is an image of Ruzante.

Colombina - Zanni - Servant Girl

This is a female servant character, who is often paired with the Second Servant as his wife (in English she became Judy).  She is often vicious, spiteful, wily, pragmatic, very clever, and Venetian.  She goes by many names including Arlecchina, Corallina, Ricciolina, Camilla and Lisetta.

Loyal Maid Servant

A faithful personal maid to the Prima Donna who helps her survive the melodramatic travails of the story.  Sometimes called Ragonda.  Another version is Bela Majin (Piedmont) who is the beautiful and loyal wife of Bicciolano, dressed red with a long head veil.

Good Natured Man

Milanese usually, moral, dignified, wise and likes the quiet life.  He transforms from servant to merchant and back again, and has several incarnations, such as Meneghino, Gianduja (Torino), Bicciolano (Piedmont).

This is Torinese Gianduja.

This is Piedmontese Bicciolano.

This is Milanese Meneghino.

  Here is good Sicilian Pasquino.

Zanni - Musician - Scapino

Scapino is the most famous musical servant.  He's always depicted with an instrument.  Coviello is another musical character that has a generally silly personality in whatever role he shows up.  The French Scaramouche or Scaramuccia character is often with an instrument too.

This is Scapino.

Here's an image of Coviello.

And this is Scaramouche.

Aspirational Peasant

This comic character had many names and personifications, but the characteristics are the same.  He has a strong regional dialect and pretends to be better bred than he really is.  Beltrame, Sandrone.

This is an image of Beltrame.

Wild Man - Caveman - Uomo selvatico

Also call Uomo selvaggio.  A primitive, hairy man who responds to all his primitive urges.  He's also used in plays as a wood nymph, causing all kinds of trouble for unsuspecting people who happen upon him.

El Capitan - The Captain

The Captain goes my many names, but the most popular is Capitan Spavento, image above.  Spavento means 'fear' in Italian, which describes his character well.  The Captain is a braggard soldier, vainglorious, Spanish or Neopolitan, a buffoon who considers himself a prize for any woman, and who is timid in combat.  He's thought to be the basis of Shakespeare's famous character Falstaff.  He's known variously as Capitan:  Coccodrillo, Matamoros (more comical), Rinocerante, Narcisino, Scaramouche or Scaramuccia (France), Rugantino (Rome), Giangugolo (Calabria), Meo Pattaca.

This is Narcisino.

Here is Capitan Matamoros.

And this is Scaramouche.

Meo Pattaca is based on a Roman mercenary character from a classic poem and play.

Saltembanco - Mountebank

This is the show barker, pitchman, salesman.  He roams the town streets trying to draw in the crowds into the show.  He would take part in a play by acting as the narrator, or playing any charlatan that needed playing.  Saltembanco means jumps on the bench, suggesting he would often climb up on benches to be seen and heard in the busy streets.  The humorous image above shows what the man might resort to in his job as barker.

The Lovers - Gli innamorati - Gli amorosi

The first woman of a troupe, the Prima Donna, usually played the female romantic lead.  Each performance had it's melodramatic element, star-crossed lovers, to please the softer emotions of the audience.  There was also a handsome, masculine, young leading man to play her lover.  They were both cultured, beautiful, elegant and eloquent.  They went by various names like Flavio and Flaminia, Leandro and Isabella, Silvia and Silvio, Fiorella and Fiorello, Rosaura and Rosario.

Think of the old Marx Brothers movies.  They always had a story of young lovers in the middle of all the zany mayhem caused by the Zanni, the Marx Brothers, who tried to get the young lovers together while clashing with the establishment characters such as Doctors, Rich Men and Women, and the Captains of Police.

This is Isabella.

Here's an image of Silvia.

Here is Fiorella.

There was often in a troupe a set of Second Lovers, who many time played friends or rivals of the First Lovers.  The actors doubled for other characters when needed, and entertained the crowds during the musical acts.

A Dancer.

A Singer.

An Apothecary.

A Notary.

Click through to my Commedia dell'Arte page for more.

Visit my Costumes page for more generic costumes you can purchase for parties and Carnival.