Shkodër: The Albanian City with a Venetian Secret

I didn’t expect to find a piece of Venice in Northern Albania. But I should have known to expect the unexpected, because travel always finds a way to surprise.

Most travelers use the city of Shkodër as a base before trekking into the jagged peaks of the beautiful Accursed Mountains. But tucked away in a nondescript warehouse on a random road outside the city, Shkodër’s Venetian secret shows its ornate mask at the Venice Art Mask Factory.

Behind the Masquerade

Most people, understandably, associate the intricate, often gold-leafed masks with the canals of Italy. But visiting northern Albania, I got a surprise: the world’s most elite masquerade art is built right here.

Walking into the showroom, it was an explosion of painted masterpieces and feathers galore: a paper mâché dream. They have every kind and color of mask you may want, from the traditional, bell-tipped jesters that date back to the Venice Carnival of the 18th century, to unexpected cross-cultural fusions, like colorful skull masks that pay homage to Mexico’s Día de los Muertos.

But those two were just a tiny fraction of what was hidden inside. As I wandered throughout the empty room, I realized that this was more of a museum than just a shop. The walls were lined floor-to-ceiling with thousands of unique designs. It was an overload of textures: from shimmering silk brocades and delicate porcelain finishes to massive, regal animal sculptures dripping in pearls and crystals.

During the entire hour we spent exploring the storeroom, there was literally only one other couple that came in. With no other visitors around, we had all the time in the world to explore, try on masks, and eventually ask questions to one of the artisans.

He picked up one of the small jesters from the table and explained the whole process to us, step-by-step. These handcrafted Venetian masterpieces like the ones displayed in the Albanian storeroom take weeks from start to finish. It is a meticulous 12-to-15 step process that begins with a raw clay sculpture, followed by a plaster mold, and then layers of genuine paper mâché (a far cry from the cheap plastic found in mass-produced knockoffs). From there, the artist hand-sketches the design lines directly onto the blank base, followed by an initial layer of paint.

Then comes the most pain-staking part: tracing the intricate patterns entirely by hand, applying a precision adhesive, and dusting it with fine glitter. Finally, the dramatic jester points are attached one by one using hot glue around the circular frame at the crown of the mask, before the brass bells are secured to the tips. Every single detail is an exercise in delicate touch and extreme focus.

History of the Shkodër Mask Factory

Learning that this iconically Italian process was being perfected right here in a quiet Albanian town left me incredibly curious. I kept wondering: how on earth did this Venetian artwork find a home in this corner of the Balkans?

We learned that it all came back to one man: Edmond Angoni, a native Albanian who spent years living and working in Venice. During his time there, he fell in love with the highly guarded, traditional art of masquerade. When he returned back to Albania in 1997, he brought with him an incredibly ambitious dream to build a world-class mask factory from the ground up.

His business started as a tiny workshop with just four local workers who had never touched a sheet of paper mâché in their lives. Instead of importing cheap, mass-produced plastic bases from factories overseas, Angoni insisted on training his artisans from start to finish in order to master the traditional Venetian methods.

Within just a few years of opening the factory in Shkodër, the quality of their products ended up catching the eye of legendary director Stanley Kubrick. Some of Angoni’s pieces were selected for the psychological thriller, Eyes Wide Shut, with Tom Cruise donning one of his iconic masks. 

The man showing us around the storeroom proudly handed us a flyer showing Tom Cruise wearing their mask in the film. This was the breakout moment that led to decades of global success, eventually leading to high-profile commissions for major Hollywood films and world-class theater productions across the globe.

From Cult Horror to Modern History

The factory’s artwork isn’t a stagnant museum; it’s a living art studio responding to current events, pop culture, world history, and mythology.

Tucked towards the back of the showroom, I found masks that took a darker turn: paper mâché versions of cinema’s most famous horror characters. This included the sinister Saw puppet which terrified me as a teen and a brilliant mashup of the V for Vendetta mask and Heath Ledger’s Joker.

But the artisans’ creations didn’t just adapt to Hollywood. Sitting quietly in a corner was a stark, modern twist on a classic design: a Plague Doctor mask updated with a covid twist. It was painted a clean, clinical white and stamped with a bright red biohazard symbol. It sat right near a whimsical, glittery take on a carnival clown, complete with a round sparkly nose and a festive shimmering birthday cone hat. 

My May 2024 visit to this factory showed that the pandemic was still very much in the minds of people around the world, and it was fascinating to see how these artists could effortlessly pivot from playful, celebratory characters to re-imagining a 400-year-old Venetian medical design for a modern pandemic.

Of course, with no other visitors milling about and thousands of masterpieces at my fingertips, I couldn’t resist trying a few (okay, many) on. Don’t worry, the gentleman running the storeroom encouraged us to try them on, and so I obliged. The varieties are endless and honestly it was really hard to narrow it down to just one for me to buy.

Ultimately, my cat lady-ness prevailed and I purchased one of the many cat mask options they offered.

A Firsthand Look at the Mask-Making Process

After paying for our masks, we moved into the actual production floor (note, the factory tour was free for us after making a purchase, but I believe you can otherwise tour the factory for a small €3 or €4 fee). We walked across the parking lot to another building and entered the heart of the operation.

While the grand showroom felt like an art vault, I found that the real magic was in the precision of the artists’ hands. Because the factory strictly guards its original designs and meticulous techniques, filming the artists at work or even taking pictures of the space is off-limits. Even though I love to document, document, document, after putting my phone away, I was able to focus on the workers and their detailed work.

Even on a Saturday, a handful of artisans were scattered across the room, which was organized into two long rows of independent workstations. The silence in the room was pretty striking. There was no loud machinery, no chatting with their colleagues, just a group of individuals and their quiet concentration.

It quickly became clear that this wasn’t a mindless assembly line (although each artisan did have a specific task they specialized in). Each artist had their own dedicated station, scattered with the tools of their specific trade. For instance, one table was buried under skinny, shimmering ribbons of luxury fabrics and silk brocades for embellishments. At another, a woman sat in total stillness, her entire focus dedicated strictly to the high-stakes task of applying precision glitter and gold leaf.

But the moment that completely blew me away was watching a man working at an easel at the back of the room. He wasn’t just decorating a mask; he was painting a stunning panoramic landscape of Venice’s canals, working with the exact same skill a Renaissance master would bring to a canvas. Seeing the steady-handed precision required to paint historic architecture onto a small 3D surface made it clear why these pieces each take weeks to complete.

The guide, the same man from the storeroom, had walked us to each station and detailed each step in the process. He then took my new cat mask and custom-added a twine loop to the top so I could easily hang it on my wall. It was a lovely, personalized touch that wrapped up an unforgettable look behind the scenes.

Leaving the Gallery Behind

We walked back out onto the streets of Shkodër carrying my new carefully packed, handmade cat mask that was molded and decorated in a quiet Balkan warehouse.

I had read about the factory online, but didn’t realize I’d be learning so much or that I’d become inebriated with the delicacy and artistry of it all. The Venice Art Mask Factory is more than just a quick tourist stop or a quirky shopping destination. It is a striking testament to what happens when true craftsmanship meets an ambitious businessman and artist. In a world increasingly dominated by cheap, mass-produced plastic souvenirs, getting to watch these artists preserve a centuries-old European tradition right here in northern Albania was an absolute privilege.

Whether you walk out with a tiny piece of masquerade history or just a deep appreciation for the artisans’ steady hands, it is an experience that will reshape how you see Venice’s Carnival and the unexpected cultural crossover in the Balkans.

So, if you find yourself around Shkodër, don’t just drive through it or use it as a base for the nearby nature. Stop and look for the masks. You might find that the gateway to the mountains is actually a destination in and of itself.

There are even more fun surprises in store if you visit Shkodër, but more on that later…