Submitted by Kasey Rhead on the 2016 winter session program in Siena, Italy sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
Venice is indescribable. I am on cloud nine. Carnevale is a festival held here every year that ends on Mardi Gras and celebrates the beginning of Lent. This year it began on January 23rd, and we were lucky enough to be here for the beginning. The masks of Carnevale are famous worldwide. The tradition of wearing them began centuries ago to blur the distinction between the rich and the poor during the time of this celebration. Naturally, I wanted to buy a mask for myself to commemorate the experience. I found a cheap one that was very me, and after a few minutes of deliberation, I bought it.
However, there are a few well-known shops that have been in business for years, and a friend and I stumbled upon one of them. Outside, the owner and artist had pictures on display of himself with the cast of Grease, Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy and various other celebrities. This guy was the real deal. We walked into the shop to see that it was so filled with masks that only three people could fit inside. And behind the counter was none other than the man in all the pictures. He greeted us, though my friend and I were stunned to silence by the handcrafted masks. It took us about 30 seconds to find masks that we both loved. Did I want to be impulsive and buy another? I asked him how long he’d been in the business, and he told me it had been 37 years and that he had owned this shop for 32. We chatted with him for 10 minutes or so, and even though other people began lining up to enter the shop, he was in no rush to kick us out. He signed our masks for us, complimented our Italian, and took pictures with us. It was absolute perfection. Though the first mask is me, the second one is the greatest story.