Oct. 28, 2004 — Masks, cloaks and other forms of disguise today generally are relegated to holidays, such as Halloween, but a new book by one of the world's leading experts on Venetian history, art and architecture suggests visual deception through masks, clothing, shoes, hair coloring and makeup was more the norm than the exception in 18th-century Venice.

The finding reveals how one of Europe's first prominent, cosmopolitan cities coped with problems relating to class structure and, in particular, the roles that women held in society.

Patricia Fortini Brown, chair of the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University and author of the recently published Yale University Press book "Private Lives in Renaissance Venice," explained that in 16th-century Venice, courtesans — prostitutes with upper-class clientele — and Commedia dell'Arte street theater troupes captured the attention of the public by at times donning masks and other disguises as daywear, and not just for carnaval and other celebrations.

In the 17th century, Brown said noblemen, patrician women, and other wealthy individuals began to wear masks and cloaks throughout the city.

"This custom reached its apogee in the 18th century, as you can see in paintings by Pietro Longhi," Brown told Discovery News.

She explained, "Masks and cloaks allowed one to move about the city anonymously, and thus offered considerable protection, as with the chador in the Islamic world. They also allowed women to frequent dubious places of recreation, such as gambling casinos, without compromising their respectability."

She added, "It seems as if the upper class all wandered around in public space incognito in that period (the 18th century)."

Courtesans were especially renowned for their extreme attire. Sketches and historical accounts from the period reveal that some women wore shoes that resembled circus act stilts. Extravagant hairstyles and copious use of makeup were common, but some women also cross-dressed to entice their suitors. As early as 1578, government records for Venice reveal that women dressed as men were touring the city's canals in gondolas.

The visual deception was not all a product of fun and games.

"For a young woman without a dowry, a courtesan's life might well seem more appealing than a life of drudgery as a servant or as an unhappy bride married to someone she did not love and perhaps was required to work for as well," Brown explained.

She said many women had to work at Venice's shipyard, the Arsenale. The workday involved long, grueling hours, which might have led some to leave the shipyard to take their chances as courtesans. Glamorous tales of successful courtesans, such as Veronica Franco, added to the lifestyle's appeal. Even women from other parts of Europe traveled to Venice to seek their fortune as courtesans.

Apart from their more outlandish attire, some courtesans dressed in finery to blur the lines of class structure.

"Courtesans deliberately wore clothing that allowed them to pass as proper matrons so that they could avoid laws that confined them to certain parts of the city, or that required them to sit in certain places in church," Brown said.

Paola Bagnatori, managing director of the Museo Italo Americano in San Francisco, was skeptical that masks were worn much outside of carnaval, but did admit that in post-Renaissance Venice, "Many people felt they had a license to do and dress as they pleased."

"Venice was in its splendor," she told Discovery News. "It was so powerful, so rich, and yet so corrupt. It is no wonder the drama of the city inspired writers, such as Shakespeare."

Brown described Venice as a "stage set," where people were "actors when in public space."

She added, "This is probably true to some degree in Italian cities in general during the early modern period, but it was particularly pronounced, and remarked upon, in Venice."