Murano Island

Famed worldwide for its glass production, Murano Island has little else to offer. Exploring the island by foot along the many canals of Murano is part of the experience, but the day we visited was hot and busy. The queues for the Glass Museum were too long. At lunch we waited for a bad sandwich and ate it sat on the street whilst a shopkeeper told us off. The best glass blowing factories are not open to tourists. Souvenir shops here sell cheap counterfeit glass and many display rooms offer poor glass-blowing demonstrations.

We had all but given up hope on Murano, much to the children’s disappointment, until towards the end of the day we were relieved to find ourselves at the glassworks of Vetreria Venier. Despite our bedraggled appearance by this point (!), we were warmly welcomed into their showroom full of priceless masterpieces. Every piece of artwork here is handcrafted by master glassblowers who have honed their skills over decades. We gladly accepted the opportunity to examine their handiwork. Each of our questions was patiently answered. We eyed a wall adorned with photos of celebrities and heads of state. The children picked out pieces of Murano glass like sweets from a jar. Even the owner of the glassworks in his crisp Italian suit took time and pleasure to speak to us.

And in the hot shop we were finally able to see what all the fuss was about! We were treated to a fantastic glass blowing demonstration, where experts of the trade deftly manoeuvred molten blobs of glass in and out of furnaces burning at over 1,000ºC. Working swiftly before the glass loses its heat and hardens, and using all manner of tools, we saw glowing liquids turned from viscous honey into the most intricate and delicate designs. Once finished, before moving to the annealer for controlled cooling, the glass was still hot enough to set a piece of paper alight.

It seems that Murano Island was worth the visit after all!