Hub

VENICE:

La Bottega dei Mascareri - San Polo 80 (Rialto), Northern end of the Rialto Bridge amid the tourist booths, San Polo, Venezia. Tel: +39 041 524 2887 / +39 041 522 3857 - The quality-conscious should shop here. The shop is small and quaint, and also serves as their master workshop, it's actually not impossible to find. The shop is tucked among the tourist carts on the northern end of the Rialto Bridge. The masks are hand-made and not cheap, but they're gorgeous and well worth the extra cash if you're really in the market for a quality piece.  Price: masks prices vary between 20-500+ Eur, but you can pick up something fantastic for about 100.

Il Canovaccio- Castello 5369-70, Calle delle Bande - Tel: +39 041 521 0393. Undeniably cool, high-quality artisan work can be bought or comissioned here. The Rolling Stone guitarist Ron Wood has shopped here, and the shop provided some of the masks and costumes for Stanley Kubrick's film 'Eyes Wide Shut' - it is alleged. Masks and theatrical objects only - No costumes.

Tragicomica, Calle dei Nomboli, San Polo, 2800, Venezia - Tel: +39 041 72 1102, Gualtiero Dall'Osto is the master mask-maker.  Here you can watch all kinds of masks evolve from mere ideas to actual costumes. Each takes several hours to make and is then decorated with gold leaf, tempera, watercolour or oil.  They carry masks and baroque costumes alike specialising in Comedia dell'Arte, Historical Veneziana and the Fancy. GREAT head gear accessories!

Blue Moon: Dorsoduro 2312, Venezia, 30123 - Tel: +39 041 71 5175. Produces handmade traditional Venetian papier mache masks. Located in the historical and artistic center of Dorsoduro near l'Accademia, they keep the ancient craft of the old 'maschereri' (Venetian mask makers) alive. They produce traditional, modern and blank masks, so that if you wish, you may design your own - this is a pretty good economical way to go if you didn't want to spend too much - plus, you'll have your own unique design.  Papier Mache or Leather masks available.

Mondonovo Maschere: Rio Terrá Canal, Dorsoduro 3063 - Tel: +39 041 28 7344. Owner Guerrino Lovato was commissioned to make nearly 80 masks for the Stanley Kubrick film "Eyes Wide Shut." In addition to choosing from a wonderful selection of masks, you can learn some interesting facts about the rituals and traditions of the mask. For example, during the plague, people stuffed the beak-shaped nose of popular masks with medicinal herbs to avoid sickness.

What about costume hire in Venice?

TIP: You can hire costumes in Venice, but with so many people wanting to do the same thing, you could find your choices limited, the prices expensive, and your outfit similar to other people's. That's not to say that you can't - lots of people do hire costumes in Venice, and if you're looking for something very simple to wear for a couple of hours then it can be a good thing to wait until you're there. However, we've found it much easier to hire costumes at home and bring them with, rather than spending half of our holiday looking for the perfect costumes!

Another TIP: Get a costume and bring it with you!