Murano History

Since the beginning of time, glass has always charmed man, who attributed some magic and supernatural powers to this transparent material. In fact in legends, the future could be predicted by magicians using a crystal sphere. Glass is synonymous with beauty.

Visitors who come to Murano, can live in a legend of more than one thousand years ago: the furnace structures have remained unaltered over time and new technology is seen only in small details. Master glass-blowers have maintained their tradition; they “battono” (beat, i.e. use) the same glass-blowers pipes and the same instruments which were knowingly forged in the machines shops which were built up over the island which, together with other small activities, has made Murano one of the centers of Venetian commerce.

The art of glass blowing in Venice is very ancient, perhaps goes back to the first millennium and the first man who blew glass was a Benedict monk who manufactured phial for using in the home. But we have no documents that show the shape of this phial. The technique used to make it, was that of blowing into glass using those instruments that the late Roman glass blowing activities had passed through the ages.This technique has been refined in Venice during many years.

Although Venetians were not the only population blowing glass ( in fact the Egyptians, the Fenici and the Syrians were good glass-blowers), the Venetian production has always been most refined. Today Venetian glass production is at its pinnacle, and is world renowned for its quality and form.The history of the island of Murano is quite different from those of other Venetian islands. In fact the furnaces were installed there and Murano began to have an economic importance in the social fabric of the Serenissima.

The island of Murano was declared a true industrial area and soon became the capital of glass production in the world.

But an order in the productive circle from the buying of raw materails to the formation of Glass Masters and the preservation of the product was needed.

So these rules were transcribed from classic latin into a more known language. This translation was made in the first half of the 1400’s with the writing and approval of “Mariegole della arte dei vetrieri de Muran” (rules of the art of glass blowing of Murano). his manuscript is bound in a velvet and gold cover.

Along with the category of glass-blower, other cathegories grew such as: mirror-maker and windowpane maker and in particular rolled glass bound in strips of lead. There was also the category of glass flower-maker.All these cathegories of glass-makers were represented in the internal council elected each year and were composed of furnace owners and the “Stazionieri”, the sellers who sold the final products.

Hierarchies grew up around the furnaces: the “maestri” (glass masters), “garzoni” and “garzonetti” (lackies), “serventi” and “serventini” (trainees) and “forcelanti” (glass-cutter) who were dependance of the Glass Master.

In the history of Murano glass, there are both moments of glory and moments of decline. However it has always been characterized by an obsessive search for quality. From its poly-chromatic glazes and the gold in the cobalt blue of the Barovier cup to the lightness and transparency of its glasses; from the delicateness of the lattice-work to the originality of Murano glass; from the mosaics to the counting beads; from the panes of glass to the mirrors, it all represents the original history of glass.

However Murano glasses are a form of artistic expression, like sculpture and painting. Thanks to In the extreme versatility of this transparent material, many artists feel the need to shape through the hands of the glass-blowers, their ideas, through the magic of glass, in search of significance in their works of art in the very profoundness of the material transparency.

People who buy Venetian chandelier are not just buying it for the light. They are buying a beautiful piece of art, history and Italian culture. For rooms of distinction.

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