Murano, the Glass Island, Venice Italy
Murano is still an exporter of traditional products like mirrors and glassware, and its factories produce modern items such as faucet handles, glass lampshades, and electric chandeliers. At the retail level, there's a growing emphasis on art glass and most important of all the souvenir trade. Murano glass candyVisit the ubiquitous glass shops on Murano or in Venice, and you'll find countless paperweights, glass beads and necklaces, knickknacks, and items of glass jewelry. Some are amusing: , colored fish in transparent glass aquariums, or wrapped hard candies of multicolored glass. Others are pretty--glass necklaces and beads, for example. Still others are "hideous," in the words of Jan Morris, who adds: "The Venetians still profess to find Murano glass lovely, but sophisticates in the industry, if you manage to crack their shell of salesmanship, will admit that bilious yellow is not their favorite color, and agree that one or two of the chandeliers might with advantage be a little more chaste." To be fair, Murano's artisans do produce beautiful works of contemporary art from glass, although some of the designs are by foreign artists. Visit the better galleries and showrooms on Murano, and you'll find works that are technically and aesthetically stunning. Also, don't miss the island's glass museums and leading churches. To plan your trip to Murano (which is only a few minutes from central Venice by public waterbus), use the navigation table or the "Next page" links at the bottom of each page. If you collect Murano glass, be sure to see our descriptions of books about Murano and its glassmaking industry, along with our page on Murano glass restoration and repairs.
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: Murano, the Glass Island, Venice Italy
Photo credit: © Rik Hamilton / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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