| Murano | |
.jpg/250px-Canale_San_Giovanni_(Murano).jpg) | |
| State | Italy |
|---|---|
| Region | Veneto |
| Capital | Murano |
| Surface | 1.17 km² |
| Inhabitants | 4.683 (2009) |
| Institutional website | |
Murano it is an island in the Venice lagoon.
To know
Background
The foundation
Murano is located 1.5 km from Venice and is the largest of the islands in the lagoon. The area was already colonized in Roman times.
Altinums residents found shelter here during the Lombard invasions and baptized the island "Ammurianum" as one of the gates of its old city.
Gradually the people of Oderzo also joined the exodus. In the 7th / 8th century, the port of the island, Sant'Erasmo, was an important intermediate port for maritime trade.
Business efficiency and wealth
Starting from the 10th century, Murano was an important commercial center; Saline production, water mills and fishing contributed to the growing economic importance.The demographic density was so high that already in the 9th century a Doge had to move the inhabitants of the island to Venice, in the Dorsoduro district. then, the island was under the jurisdiction of a Podestà, who was chosen by the Venetian nobility. However, Murano had its own large and small council, and followed its own rules and laws. Offices such as a Camerlengo were added to these institutions. , the head of the treasurer and the Nuncio, the ambassador to Venice, who took care of the shops around the city of the island.Murano, like Venice, had the privilege of producing its own silver and gold coins.
Glass production center
At the end of the 13th century, the island specializes in the production of glass. In 1291 all the glassblowers of Venice were invited to leave the city and set up the furnaces in Murano, it was a precautionary measure against the danger of fires for the wooden houses of Venice.The glass trade has now experienced such a development, that Murano from the 15th to the end of the 17th century, gained Europe primacy. In this heyday the island was also a summer vacation spot. Venetian nobles settled here their country houses, built magnificent palaces in the middle to wonderful gardens.
The island of glass
.jpg/300px-Murano_-_panoramio_(18).jpg)
Ancient tradition
It seems that glass production in the lagoon started very early: during the excavations they found remains from the Roman era.At the end of the 10th century glassmaking began in Venice.The glassblowers soon gathered in an association.In 1291 the artisans had to move to Murano.
Glass and the export boom
As early as the mid-14th century, Murano glassblowers began selling their products abroad.They were known for their highly sought-after glass beads and since the 15th century for mirrors, which were exported in large quantities. more just utilitarian objects, but they created independent art.
Experiments with different materials
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, glassblowers mainly studied functionality with different materials. They export dark colored amalgam even if it was out of fashion in Venice. Then they develop the production of crystal, no real crystal, but a particularly clear and transparent glass . Aventurine-glass was invented and glasses with gold motifs, chalcedony glass that was hard as stones. The ancient technique of millefiori was discovered, worked with colored glass sticks in transparent glass. More and more items were produced: the lattimo, an opaque frosted glass, and latticino, a skilful connection made of lattimo and clear glass. At that time the Venetians achieved a prized quality that made it famous.
Regulations and cooperative of the blowers
In view of the growing importance of the glass industry, the artisans received great rights, but also rigorous political control. Unlike in other European countries it was not necessary to choose a member of a family of blowers to pass on this art. improve his skills by learning from a master blower. However, glassblowers were forbidden to emigrate.If they left Murano, their assets were confiscated, it was also verified that the Serenissima hired some assassins to kill them.However, the north of Europe flourished with businesses established as early as in the 16th century.
Competition
In the 17th and 18th centuries, glass blowers focused their attention entirely on forms. Mirrors and chandeliers from Venice were so in demand that Louis XIV tried to set up a competing factory to avoid import charges. Also in Bruges and Bohemia, innovative factories were created. They developed glass engraving technology ever since. invented the crystal. In 1730, Giuseppe Briati founded a factory in Venice to imitate Bohemian crystal. The results were disappointing, because the Venetian crystal amalgam was not suitable for engraving and could not be sliced into facets.
Decline and renewal
The change in taste and competition from abroad has decided the decline of glass. During the fall of the Republic of Venice it had almost completely sunk, and only in the mid-nineteenth century it flourished again thanks to the enterprises of some old families of glass masters (Barovier, Toso, Seguso, Salviati) and to the development of the Glass Museum.
How to orient yourself
Murano: full screen map.How to get
By plane
- 1 Verona Airport (Catullus), Boxes of Sommacampagna, ☎ 39 045 8095666, @[email protected].
- 2 Treviso Airport (Canova), via Noalese 63 / E.
- 3 Venice airport (Marco Polo), ☎ 39 041 2606111.
How to get around
By public transport
Navigation line ACTV.
What see
- 1 Glass Museum (Giustinian Palace). The Museum is the only one of its kind in Italy, housed in one of the largest palaces in the lagoon, the Giustinian Palace. It consists of three departments: the first shows history, Egyptian and Dalmatian pieces, the second features stained glass artwork created between the 15th and 19th centuries, and the third - in a neighboring building - is shown modern production and industrial. All three are worth the visit, but the interesting rooms are certainly those of the second department, because they provide an overview of the evolution of taste and techniques. Here are the working tools of the blower shown and the different stages of production.
- 2 Church of San Pietro Martire. It is located on the left at the end of the fondamenta. Their Renaissance colonnade is worth a stop, as are the paintings and the carved wooden altar, the episodes out depicting the life of John the Baptist. The Palazzo da Mula facade overlooks the canal of the Angels. combines Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance elements.
- 3 Palazzo da Mula.
- Trevisan Palace. Solid Palladian style structure with a frescoed vaulted frame.
- 4 Church of Santa Maria and San Donato (Murano Cathedral). This church is not only the most beautiful building on the island, but also one of the oldest in the lagoon, and the view of its floor alone is worth the visit. The church was founded in the seventh century, consecrated to Mary, but also to Donato, when they brought the remains of Kephallenia here in 1125. The Byzantine interior looks like the Basilica of San Marco, the Church is shaped by the influence of the currents that they came from the mainland, like Romanesque art.
Events and parties
What to do
Shopping
- Emmedue Artistic Glass Factory, Calle Miotti 12 a (The glassworks is a few meters from the Murano-Faro stop, crossed by the public actv lines 41-42-dm), ☎ 39 041 739503, fax: 39 041 5275899, @[email protected].
Free. the working of the glass masters in Murano through a guided tour. Booking via email is recommended. - MadeMuranoGlass, Calle Del Convento N 5 - Murano 30141 Venice (Venice), ☎ 39 3293308045, @[email protected]. Sale of original Murano glass products
Free. the working of the glass masters in Murano through a guided tour. Booking via email is recommended.
The furnaces
One of the island's furnaces
Glass Museum
How to have fun
Where to eat
Where stay
Average prices
- Locanda Conterie Hotel, Calle Conterie 21, ☎ 39 041 5275003, fax: 39 041 5274245.
- Al Soffiador hotel, viale Bressagio 10, ☎ 39 041 739430, fax: 39 041 739174.
