"Buongiorno Siora maschera!" ( Good morning, Lady mask ): This was the greeting along the streets and canals of the city during Carnival: nothing in those days was more important, neither gender, neither social class, let alone the person's identity.
The Craftsmen who produced masks were called "maschereri", they belonged to the class of painters and they had their own statutes dating back to 1436. The manufacture of masks was not limited to the carnival period, because they were worn throughout the year even in official banquets or parties of the Republic.
Traditional masks were the Bauta for men, and Moretta for women. The Bauta was composed of a black cloak, the "Tabarro", a black three-cornered hat to wear as a hat, and a white mask, called Larva. Moretta however, was a black velvet oval mask, originally used by the ladies to go to visit the nuns, then embellished and decorated with veils and little hats, which gave them a very mysterious and fascinating aspect.
