Venice Shopping
One of the main attractions of Venice is it's incredible selection of stores and souvenirs. Many major fashion labels have stores in Venice (particularly around Saint Mark's Square), and a number of boutique and speciality jewellers are also based within the city. Leather-ware too is popular, with handbags and shoes featuring heavily in the fashion stores that line the alley-ways.
Venice is known for several particular wares, however, that are difficult to find elsewhere in Italy and indeed the world.
Carnivale Masks
It seems like every second store in Venice sells masks, though some are much better quality than others. There are several key designs, each with their own historical significance. The most unusual looking mask features an elongated nose and was worn by Plague Doctors. The extended nose cavity was included in the design to allow for herbs to be stuffed in as a way of warding off the 'vapours' that the doctors believed caused the Black Plague illness. Other well known masks include the 'happy' and 'sad' faces that are commonly associated with the dramatic arts (actually influenced by 'Commedia dell'arte'), masks in the shape of animal faces (cats, birds, dogs and farm animals included), and jester masks. One of the most famous mask shops is Il Canovaccio which created the masks worn in the movie 'Eyes Wide Shut'.
Glass
Although the island of Murano in the Venetian Lagoon is the main area for glass artisans and workshops, Venice too has a huge number of speciality glass stores, some of which still have glass-blowing demonstrations throughout the day. Glass of the Venetian style is typified by the use of pearly effervescent colours that are swirled through the glass - usually into the form of vases, goblets, glass trinkets or bowls. Murano glass in particular has another, more refined coloured-glass technique which involves creating tiny scenes or designs from hundreds of different 'rolls' of glass that are melted together - these designs are commonly displayed in jewellery. This technique is known as millefiori.
Stationery
Another popular product Venice is famed for is its fine paper, usually featuring a marbled water-colour design that adorns note-paper, envelopes, diaries, calligraphy sets and books. Some stationery stores also sell wax and signet kits for sealing notes (like they did in the old days!) as well as quills, inks and personalized leather journals.