Venice, Italy Mask

close-up of the mask

My family and I travel a lot. We always have, and we probably always will. Although traveling to the U.K. every year is fun, sometimes it can get a little boring, if its the same things you see every year. Especially if you've been there 20 times. One thing my parents like to do, is go to different places and explore different cultures, which is nice. In 2008, my dad had to go to Italy to meet with a company his business was going to do business with. So he brought us along. Venice was only about an hour away from where the company he was meeting with was so we took a short vacation in Venice. While in Venice, we went into the city to look at the different souvenirs we could take home. We found this little shack/store with tons of glue, material and masks in it. It was a place where this little Italian guy, not speaking hardly any english made traditional Venice masks from scratch. The name of the store we got it from was called Laboratorio Artigiano Maschere. The masks are normally just made as a form of self expression or pieces of art now, however they were famous for dances and balls in the olden days. To my knowledge they still do them every once in awhile but only on special occasions. Most masks in Venice are now pre-made, and sold as just souvenirs, which is a shame because you don't get the classic feel of it. The price difference is quite a lot though. A traditional pre-made Venice mask will cost around $60-$100, the Venice mask my parents got that was made from scratch was closer to $850. It's an incredible piece of art, and thinking that a little italian guy in a shack made this is mind blowing. 

straps to put it on

the whole mask

the designer of the mask, and where it was bought

another view of the mask