The eyes of the world of entertainment are focused on the Venice Film Festival, where actors, directors and famous people from all over the world will parade on the iconic red carpet. But why the red carpet Is it really red and, above all, when did the tradition of spreading a carpet come to welcome the most important guests? In reality, the origins of this custom are much more distant than we could expect and they even go back to ancient Greece: the red carpet, however, has become a real custom for the world of entertainment only in 1922, with the first red carpet organized in Hollywood.
The “purple” carpet mentioned in the Scripts of Aeschylus
As anticipated, the custom of spreading a red carpet (or even better, purple) to pay homage to and celebrate the most important guests dates back to ancient Greece: already in the act of Agamemnon of Aeschylus, in fact, we speak of red tapestries lying from the revengeful wife of King Clytemnestra, who was preparing for the triumphant welcome to his husband’s house, returning from the war of Troia.
In general, the red has long been associated with prestige, royalty and aristocracy, being one of the most difficult and expensive colors to produce. The carminia cochineal or tincture was – and is still – made by the insect of the cochineal squam and was used in the fifteenth century by the Aztecs and the Mayans in North America and central to color the tissues.
The arrival of the red carpet in Hollywood
It is true that the tradition of spreading a red carpet for prestige guests dates back to antiquity, but its use so widespread in the world of entertainment and cinema is due above all when the red carpet in Hollywood in 1922. In that year, in fact, a long crimson carpet was unfolded in front of the Egyptian theater for the first Hollywood of Robin Hood, with Douglas Fairbans. And in the decades that followed, the red carpet then became one of the few places where the audience could glimpse charismatic stars such as Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly.
According to some reconstructions, the introduction of the red carpet to Hollywood depended on the spread of this new tradition in the United States starting from 1821, when in Georgetown, in the South Carolina, President James Monroe was welcomed with a red carpet on his arrival in the city.
The red carpet at the Venice Film Festival
As for the Venice Film Festival, however, the red carpet has become a central part of the film event over the years: the Festival, in fact, was born in 1932, but was interrupted a few years later due to the outbreak of the Second World War, officially taking up in 1946.
Starting from the 1950s, also thanks to the economic boom and the flourishing of Italian cinema, the parades on the Red Carpet of Venice gradually became one of the most discussed and appreciated moments, hosting the great divas of the time, from Sophia Loren to Maria Callas and Sandra Milo.
