The theme for our ‪‎travel pics this week (and a bit) is I, for Italy.

Venice is not just about gondola rides.

It’s also about magnificent glass, and centuries of art – and about masks.

The mask is synonymous with Venice, and the Carnival of Venice – which dates back around 950 years.

When we were in Venice, we bought a hand-crafted ‘Volto’ style mask (full face, although it is gilded and decorated – as opposed to the pale white ‘Larva’ variation).

The amusing thing is that the mask cost almost as much to ship back to Australia as it did to buy it in the first place.

That’s because we wanted it packed securely and insured – something that you needn’t bother doing with the plethora of cheap masks you see in the markets of Venice – especially at night.

These €10 masks are plastic knock-offs – but for a cheap souvenir, they are nice enough