Cappellaio Matto 瘋帽客 (愛麗絲夢遊仙境)

The Hatter (called Hatta in Through the Looking-Glass) is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. He is often referred to as The Mad Hatter in adaptations and pop culture, though this term was never used by Carroll. The phrase "mad as a hatter" predates Carroll's works. The Hatter and the March Hare are described as "both mad" by the Cheshire Cat in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The Hatter character, alongside all the other fictional beings, first appears in Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In "Chapter Seven – A Mad Tea-Party", while exploring Wonderland, Alice comes across the Hatter having tea with the March Hare and the Dormouse.

The Hatter tells Alice how he once always had Time on his side, but explains that now they have argued – they are always having tea because when he tried to sing for the foul-tempered Queen of Hearts, she sentenced him to death for "murdering the time", but he escapes decapitation. In retaliation, now Time (referred to as "he" by the Hatter) will not do a thing for the Hatter, keeping him trapped at 6:00 pm (aka teatime).

When Alice arrives at the tea party, the Hatter is characterised by switching places on the table at any given time, making short, personal remarks, asking unanswerable riddles, and reciting nonsensical poetry, all of which eventually drives Alice away. The Hatter appears again in "Chapter Eleven – Who Stole the Tarts?", as a witness at the Knave of Hearts' trial, where the Queen appears to recognise him as the singer she sentenced to death, and the King of Hearts also cautions him not to be nervous or he will have him "executed on the spot".

The character also appears briefly in Carroll's 1871 Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Under the name of "Hatta," the Hatter was in trouble with the law once again. He was, however, not necessarily guilty, as the White Queen explained that subjects were often punished before they commit a crime, rather than after, and sometimes they did not even commit one at all. He was also mentioned as one of the White King's messengers along with March Hare, who went under the name of "Haigha." Sir John Tenniel's illustration depicts Hatta as sipping from a teacup as he did in the original novel. Alice does not comment on whether Hatta is the Hatter of her earlier dream.

A local reveler and her modern take on the Mad Hatter at the Venice Carnevale.

The photos are done on the busy streets of Venice, using just a grey wall as a backdrop, and using only natural lighting.

The Venice Carnevale is not solely about masks. Local Italians prefer historical costumes or painted faces.

The term "Mad Hatter" refers to a famously eccentric character from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but the phrase "mad as a hatter" has a deeper, historical meaning related to mercury poisoning from the 18th and 19th-century hat-making trade. This resulted in neurological damage, such as tremors and mood changes, which gave the expression its meaning of someone being crazy or eccentric. The Mad Hatter is a popular example of this historical phrase, with Lewis Carroll's character becoming a pop culture icon for madness and eccentricity.

The Mad Hatter represents the consequences of industrialization, specifically the mercury poisoning that caused neurological damage to 19th-century hat makers. He also represents a form of "beautiful nonsense," embodying the wisdom that can be found outside of logic and reason, often in a way that highlights the frustrating and contradictory nature of adult life for the book's protagonist, Alice. 

I named the title in Italian, so instead of the Mad Hatter, it's Cappellaio Matto...