Thousands of tourists and visitors have flooded the northern Italian city of Venice as the iconic annual carnival, which is world famous for its elaborate masks, kicked off on January 27. Covering faces in public has a long history in Venice, which is believed to be a unique response by the city’s inhabitants to the rules, according to which people should dress based on their profession and social class. However, during carnival season, people could dress as they liked instead of according to society’s dictates. Today, the Venice Carnival is a huge celebration that goes on for two weeks.