Rozafa Castle

Rozafa castle is a large castle on the top of a hill near Shkoder city. The castle has a spectacular, panoramic view over Shkoder city and the Lake of Shkodra. The Illyrians originally founded the castle in antiquity, but it was later rebuild by the Venetians and the Turkish Ottomans. There is a famous legend about the castle. Allegedly, three brothers build the castle during the day, however, during the night the walls would fall down. The brothers were told by an old man, that a human sacrifice was needed to ensure the walls would stand. The brothers made a deal and decided that the wife, who brought lunch the next day, would be sacrificed. The two older brothers cheated and told their wives. Therefore, the wife of the youngest brother, Rozafa, was sacrificed. She agreed under the condition that her foot, her hand and her breast would be exposed, so that she could take care of her infant child. You can see a statue of Rozafa at the entrance of the castle's museum.

Venice Art Mask Factory

The Venice Art Mask Factory is a factory and exhibition of Venetian Masks. The factory was started in 1997 by Edmond Angoni, who is originally from Albania, but spend a long period of time in Venice. Back in Albania, he began creating Venetian masks and turned it into a worldwide factory. The factory has eight shops in Venice and one in Las Vegas, and it sells masks in luxury shops in Dubai and Australia as well. In the Venice Art Mask Factory, you can see a display of 1700 unique art masks. Each mask is produced by 12 or 13 professionals, who work on the molding, papier-mache, painting and decorations. The factory produces more than 30.000 masks per year. It is very enjoyable to browse through the beautiful collection of masks. Each mask is a unique work of art. The masks vary in price point, so you might even find a unique souvenir to take home.