Marco Dilauro paints  masks worn during the annual Venice Carnival.

Dilauro, 43, is a tax collector by day, but his real passion is making masks and costumes for the carnival.

A resident of Como, northern Italy, he chooses fabrics, ribbons, lace and costume jewellery to make the period costumes after doing extensive research, and wears them at Carnival, which ends on the day before Ash Wednesday. — Photos by Reuters