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How Venetians Think About Carnival and History
Author(s) -
Feil D.K.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
the australian journal of anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.245
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1757-6547
pISSN - 1035-8811
DOI - 10.1111/j.1835-9310.1998.tb00205.x
Subject(s) - conquest , history , identity (music) , period (music) , meaning (existential) , consciousness , reputation , literature , ancient history , art , sociology , aesthetics , philosophy , social science , epistemology
Carnival in Venice dates back to the the 11th century. After steadily efflorescing through to the 18th century and acquiring a grand reputation throughout Europe and beyond, carnival lapsed in the period after the conquest by Napoleon in 1797. Only in 1979 did it reemerge as an important Venetian event. This essay traces the important historical continuities and contexts of Venetian carnival to the present. Despite its hiatus, Venetians link themselves and their carnival to their glorious, remote past, demonstrating profound historical consciousness, politicising and debating the ‘real’ meaning of carnival and above all, defining and reaffirming their own identity through its performance.