Venice Carnival 2024 - The feast of the "Maries" - part 2

The Feast of the Marie, today linked to the Carnival celebrations, is one of the oldest traditions that Venice remembers and renews every year. One of the few public events, hovering between the sacred and the profane, which saw the people with a leading role, and not only as a simple figurant.
But the evolution of the festival also manifested a sort of inter-classist spirit on the part of the Serenissima, while remaining deeply and firmly oligarchic.
The tradition of the Marie seems to date back as far as the 9th century, when on the occasion of the Purification of Mary, usually celebrated on 2 February, 12 young girls and their respective spouses were blessed in the Church of San Pietro di Castello, couples who would be married within the year.
The brides were adorned with precious dresses and opulent jewels donated by the noble families of the city: the jewels were kept in small wooden containers, called "arcelle", made for the occasion and skilfully carved by expert craftsmen. The nobles also participated with lavish donations, in order to build the wedding dowry of the girls, always belonging to the people and therefore without great means.
The ceremony was very heartfelt, not only because of its religious value, but because it aimed to increase the number of weddings in a city not very populated, but above all to create a bond not only apparent between the less wealthy classes of society and the high nobility.
The event then highlighted the female figure, very often relegated to a lower level, exalting her role also as wife and mother, as if the fate of society depended on them. And again, it made the protagonist of such a heartfelt celebration the very people who enjoyed few spaces and rare amusements: a sort of placebo but for which the population itself had its good reward, while still keeping alive the feeling of recognition towards the rich families of the Republic.

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