Murano is an ‘island of the Venetian lagoon renowned for its artistic glass.
The manufacture of glass has linked its history and its success and the very name is associated with Murano glass as it were almost synonymous.
This association is the result of almost a millennium of history where Murano with its master craftsmen have helped to make this material from simple sand to one of the highest expressions of art.
See a master at work as form to matter by the fire still remains one of the most fascinating shows to which you can attend.
Things seem to spring from nowhere as if by a magic fire and made a few simple gestures.
A few hand gestures that seem simple but in reality the result of years and years of work and technical improvement, a school that is passed down from generation to generation for centuries in the furnace.
The glass as most things are discovered by accident by noting that the sand exposed to high temperature of fire melts and becomes glass. The first to master the art of fusing glass appear to have been the Phoenicians and then the technique has spread along the coasts of the Mediterranean Middle Eastern and Egyptian.
Originally, the glass paste was poured into forms and printed on the m ode to obtain useful rudimentary containers to hold food and drinks. The Romans imported from the East this work and one of the first manufacturing facilities in Italy seems to have been in Aquileia, ancient and important Roman port through which was passing the trade with the East and the European continent.
With the fall of the Roman Empire and the invasions of the northern people in the populations of Italy and Altinia Aquileia to escape from the ravages of these people have found refuge in the islands of the Venetian lagoon so founded the first settlements of Venice at the end of fifth century AD. Recent archaeological excavations in Venice, however, seem to prove the existence of pre-existing Roman settlements. Surely with the barbarian invasions the role as the main port of Aquileia interchange goods so far played in the Roman period is lost and is gradually replaced by Venice.
It is from Venice Aquileia probably inherited the technique of glass and above inherits the role of a bridgehead between the West and the East. Thanks to trade it has with the East has the ability to assimilate the culture and then advanced and sophisticated techniques. Venice from the East no matter who sells only goods that are valuable to the people of the hinterland and that will make it a rich and powerful maritime republic, but also learned the finer arts such as weaving silk, precious metals and glassblowing. The Eastern influence in the taste and technique of glass blowing are crucial to the development of glassmaking in Venice. Art glass Venetian glass is a plastic material by molding and blow hot in the finest and most varied forms and colors is clearly in conflict with other processes of glass that traditionally use glass as a hard, monochromatic, by print and possibly promote the cut.
This way of interpreting the glass develops over time a school that becomes unique Venetian glass, and soon reaches the artistic highlight with great examples of stylistic virtuosity.
The first historical document glassware activity in Venice is the year 982.
From 1291 the glassworks that meanwhile moved to the nearby Murano for safety reasons and perhaps for secrecy, are banned from Venice, and from that date that links its fate to the Murano glass.
The glass art work becomes the almost exclusive Murano which are handed down from father to son learned the art of giving rise to real dynasties of glassmakers some of which are still active from the Middle Ages to today. This makes Murano one of the oldest if not the oldest settlement still in production activities. A true historical and cultural heritage to defend and preserve.
The Murano glass are valuable objects of art sought after by collectors around the world that still retain unaltered their charm and their significance elitist.