/lit/ - Literature

>>19794207
Rich Europeans flocked to Venice from the 16th to 18th centuries, mostly for the carnival. Masks were legally allowed to be worn for 4 months out of the year and once venice industry/trade declined they shifted themselves into becoming a party destination for rich euros looking for debauchery without being judged. By the time of the republic's collapse from Napoleon in the late 18th century, he defined the city as the "drawing room of europe".
I think the mask obsession comes from here. Also, venice's government was a super secretive paranoid police state with an endless amount of council and committed double checking each other, along with boxes placed throughout the city where citizens can submit plots against the republic to the "council of ten" who had complete control to investigate, try, and execute anybody they want.
I'm sure this resonates with elites in all societies