"There are no schools for this trade. You learn as you go along. In fact the first ones I made were pretty ugly."
The white, long-chinned Casanova mask is the most popular, presumably among those hoping to mimic the style of the legendary Venetian lover in a bit of traditional debauchery for which the carnival was famous through the centuries.
That all ground to a halt under Napoleon and was only revived again in 1979, when the merchants of Venice hit upon a way to make some low-season profit.
Though the anonymity bestowed by wearing a mask historically tended to lead to outrageous behavior, the carnival no longer has the license of earlier times.
But perhaps not entirely.
The intriguing sounding "Shadows of Love" private event promises "an afternoon of amusements accompanied by music, dinner with dance masters and malicious games of the 18th
century."
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