Monday, September 30, 2019

Murano Italy (Art Glass)


My wife and I just got back from a trip to Florence and Venice to be met by a big snow storm. While visiting Venice we took the water bus to Murano the island of the glass blowers. We collect art glass but we did not buy any there. The number of stores was overwhelming and the quality varied wildly.  According to signs in some shop windows lots is imported rather than produced locally. One rule of thumb we adopted was to avoid shops with glass clowns in the window. Murano is lovely, a sort of mini Venice and well worth a visit even if you are not shopping for glass. Instead we visited the glass museum. 

https://museovetro.visitmuve.it/en/home/

Then we ate probably the best meal of the trip while sitting next to the canal people/dog watching and visited a church that boasts, as well as the normal saintly bits, dragon bones. My wife and I love to visit old churches when we travel and this was a beautiful example with a two story Byzantine exterior.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dragon-bones-of-santa-maria-e-san-donato

As on our previous trip we bought our glass at the shop of Vittorio Costantini in Venice. His wife Graziella is also on hand to chat with visitors and display the pieces they have for sale. (his personal collection, also on view is incredible). They are two of the nicest people you could meet and his lamp work sculptures of birds, fish, insects and other denizens of the microcosmos he finds so fascinating, are outstanding. 

http://www.vittoriocostantini.com/en/home-2/


Murano Museum 


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