Venice Art Mask Factory

The Venice Art Mask Factory at Shkoder makes Venetian carnival masks in papier-mache by hand, founded by an Albanian and an Italian partner, and it has become one of the larger producers supplying the Venice carnival trade, exporting several hundred thousand masks a year, which is an odd and specific piece of industry to find in northern Albania. Visitors can see the process: paper pressed into plaster moulds, drying, cutting, painting, gilding and finishing, most of it done by hand by a workforce of a few dozen, with a showroom at the end. Visits are informal and depend on the workshop being open and willing, and they are usually arranged through hotels in Shkoder or simply by turning up on a working day.

What you actually see

• Papier-mache pressed in moulds - the first stage of the process.
• Hand painting and gilding - the finishing done at the benches.
• A production line for Venice - masks made here for the Italian carnival.
• The showroom - the range of finished masks at the end.

When to go

Year round on working days; the workshop is busiest before the Venice carnival in the winter months. One hour. Visits depend on the workshop being open, so arrange through a hotel or call ahead.

Honest expectations

It is a working factory and visits are informal and not guaranteed. There is no interpretation or tour as such. The showroom is a shop and the visit ends there. Weekends and holidays it is closed.

Nearby

Shkoder city centre is a short drive; Rozafa castle lies south-west.