Venetian glass () is glassware made in Venice, typically on the island of Murano near the city. Traditionally it is made with a soda–lime "metal" and is typically elaborately decorated, with various "hot" glass-forming techniques, as well as gilding, enamel, or engraving. Production has been concentrated on the Venetian island of Murano since the 13th century. Today Murano is known for its art glass, but it has a long history of innovations in glassmaking in addition to its artistic fame—and was Europe's major center for luxury glass from the High Middle Ages to the Italian Renaissance. During the 15th century, Murano glassmakers created cristallo—which was almost transparent and considered the finest glass in the world. Murano glassmakers also developed a white-colored glass (milk glass called lattimo) that looked like porcelain. They later became Europe's finest makers of mirrors.
During the Early Middle Ages, Venice was originally controlled by the Eastern Roman Empire before eventually becoming an independent city state. It flourished as a trading center and seaport in the High Middle Ages. Its connections with the Middle East helped its glassmakers gain additional skills, as glassmaking was more advanced in areas such as Syria and Egypt. Although Venetian glassmaking in factories existed as far back as the eighth century, it became concentrated in Murano by law beginning in 1291, in part because glass factories often caught fire, and moving all of them to one island removed much of the possibility of a major fire disaster for the rest of the city. Another reason for moving the glassmakers to Murano was that Venetian glassmakers developed secret recipes and methods for making glass, and the concentration of Venice's glassmaking on the island of Murano enabled better control of those secrets.
Murano became Europe's luxury glassmaking center, peaking in popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries. According to historian W. Patrick McCray, the Murano glass industry’s rise in the Renaissance was shaped by a close interplay of consumer demand, skilled craftsmanship, and strict state regulation, which together elevated glass from an artisan product to a luxury art form. Venice's dominance in trade along the Mediterranean created a wealthy merchant class that was a strong connoisseur of the arts. This helped establish demand for art glass and more innovations. The spread of glassmaking talent in Europe eventually diminished the importance of Venice and its Murano glassmakers. The occupation and dissolution of the Venetian state by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797 caused more hardship for Murano's glassmaking industry. Murano glassmaking began a revival in the 1920s. Today, Murano and Venice are tourist attractions, and Murano is home to numerous glass factories and a few individual artists' studios. Its Museo del Vetro (Glass Museum) in the Palazzo Giustinian contains displays on the history of glassmaking as well as glass samples ranging from Egyptian times through the present day.
Late Antiquity and Middle Ages
The Venetian city state grew during the decline of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, as people fled the barbarian invasions to the safety of islands in the Venetian Lagoon. Small communities grew in the lagoon, among which Venice eventually became the most prominent. The city of Venice became a highly successful trading port, and by the beginning of the 11th century dominated trade between Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. It also had a strong navy. Many European Crusaders passed through Venice on their way to and from the Holy Land. Treasures of many kinds were bought and sold in Venice: spices, precious metals, gemstones, ivory, silks—and glass. Successful trade bred a wealthy merchant class in addition to the nobles, and the wealthy became patrons of Venice's famous art and architecture.
It is thought that glass production in Venice began as early as 450, when glassmakers from Aquileia fled to the islands to escape barbarian invaders. The earliest archaeological evidence of a glass factory in the area comes from the Venetian lagoon island of Torcello and dates from the seventh or eighth century. The original Venetian glassmakers were joined by glassmakers from Byzantium and from the Middle East—which enriched their glassmaking knowledge. Glass was made in the Middle East long before it was made in Europe, though Ancient Roman glass made in Italy, Germany and elsewhere could be extremely sophisticated. Early products included beads, glass for mosaics, jewelry, small mirrors, and window glass.
Venetian glassmaking grew in importance to the city's economy. Around 1271 the local glassmakers' guild made rules to help preserve glassmaking secrets. It was forbidden to divulge trade secrets outside of Venice. If a glassworker left the city without permission, he would be ordered to return. If he failed to return, his family would be imprisoned. If he still did not return, an assassin would be sent to kill him. Additional rules specified ingredients used for making glass and the type of wood used as fuel for the furnaces.
Island of Murano
A law dated November 8, 1291 confined most of Venice's glassmaking industry to the "island of Murano". Murano is actually a cluster of islands linked by short bridges, located less than north of the Venetian mainland in the Venetian lagoon. The furnaces used to make molten glass were a fire hazard, especially in cities with wooden structures nearby. Moving the glassmaking industry to Murano removed the threat of a disastrous fire in Venice. The move also kept the technology of glassmaking, and the glassmakers, confined to Murano. This prevented the spread of Venetian glassmaking expertise to potential competitors. Glassmakers were not allowed to leave the island without permission from the government. Leaving without permission, or revealing trade secrets, was punishable by death. Locating the industry on a single island also made it easier for the government to monitor imports and exports.
Murano in the 1200s was a summer resort where the aristocrats of Venice built villas with orchards and gardens. It took about an hour to row a boat from Venice to Murano. Although the glassmakers could not leave the island, the nobles had no such constraints. Despite their travel restrictions, the glassmakers lived on a beautiful island, were under the direct rule of Venice's Council of Ten (the Venetian state-security committee), and had extra privileges. They did not work during the hot summer, during which furnace repair and maintenance was performed. During the 1300s, the annual summer vacation lasted five months. In the 1400s, the Venetian government shortened the summer vacation to three and a half months. Murano glassmakers sometimes complained they were not working enough. Glassmakers also enjoyed heightened social status. On December 22, 1376, it was announced that if a glassmaker's daughter married a nobleman, there was no forfeiture of social class, so their children were nobles.
Major products and innovations
The Venetian glassmakers of Murano are known for many innovations and refinements to glassmaking. Among them are Murano beads, cristallo, lattimo, chandeliers, and mirrors. Additional refinements or creations are goldstone, multicolored glass (millefiori), and imitation gemstones made of glass. In addition to guarding their secret processes and glass recipes, Venetian/Murano glassmakers strived for beauty with their glass.
Aventurine Aventurine glass, also known as goldstone glass, is translucent brownish with metallic (copper) specks. It was developed by Venetian glassmakers in the early 15th century. It is first cited in historical documents in 1626. The name aventurine is used because it was discovered accidentally.
Beads
Glass beads (a.k.a. Murano beads) were made by the Venetians beginning in the 1200s. The beads were used as rosary beads and jewelry. They were also popular in Africa. Christopher Columbus noted that the people of the New World (Native Americans) were "delighted" with the beads as gifts, and beads became popular with American Indians.
Calcedonio
Calcedonio is a marbled glass that looked like the semiprecious stone chalcedony. This type of glass was created during the 1400s by Angelo Barovier, who is considered Murano's greatest glassmaker. Barovier was an expert glassblower, revived enameling, and also worked with colored glass. His family had been involved with glassmaking since at least 1331, and the family continued in the business after his death. He died in1460.
Chandeliers During the 1700s, Giuseppe Briati was famous for his work with ornamented mirrors and chandeliers. Briati's chandelier style was called —literally bouquet of flowers. Briati's typical chandelier was large with multiple arms decorated with garlands, flowers and leaves. One of the common uses of the huge Murano chandeliers was interior lighting for theatres and important rooms in palaces. Briati was born in Murano in 1686, and his family's business was glassmaking. He was allowed to work in a Bohemian glass factory, where he learned the secrets of working with Bohemian crystal—which was becoming more popular than Murano cristallo (Italian for crystal). In 1739, the Council of Ten allowed him to move his furnace from Murano to Venice because his work had caused such jealousy that he and his workers feared for their lives. (His father had been stabbed to death in 1701.) Briati retired in 1762, and his nephew became manager of the glass works. Briati died in Venice in 1772, and is buried in Murano.
Cristallo
Cristallo is a soda glass, created during the 15th century by Murano's Angelo Barovier. The oldest reference to cristallo is dated May 24, 1453. At the time, cristallo was considered Europe's clearest glass, and is one of the main reasons Murano became "the most important glass center". The name arose because it looked like rock crystal or clear quartz, which had long been carved into various types of vessels and small hardstone carvings.Osborne, 398 Rock crystal was said to have magical qualities and in the Middle Ages was often used in Christian religious objects. Cristallo became very popular.
Cristallo was fragile and difficult to cut, but it could be enameled and engraved. Manganese dioxide, a de-coloring agent, was a key ingredient in the secret formula used to make cristallo. An easy modification to cristallo made in Murano was to produce a frosted or crackle version. The use of "crystal" as a marketing term for glass has continued into modern times, though for at least the last century it has normally meant lead crystal glass of the type developed by Ravenscroft. Cristallo could be made extremely thin, thus reducing the remaining hint of color, and the Venetians usually made clear pieces this way.
Filigrana
The filigrana (a.k.a. filigree) style was developed in Murano in the 1500s. By embedding glass canes (usually white but not always) in colorless glass, the glassware has a striped appearance. Vetro a fili has straight white stripes, vetro a retortoli has twisted or spiral patterns, and vetro a reticello has two sets of lines twisted in opposite directions. Francesco Zeno has been mentioned as the inventor of vetro a retortoli.
Lattimo
Lattimo, or milk glass, began being made in Murano during the 15th century, and Angelo Barovier is credited with its re-discovery and development. This glass is opaque white, and was meant to resemble enameled porcelain. It was often decorated with enamel showing sacred scenes or views of Venice.
Millefiori
Millefiori glass is a variation of the murrine technique made from colored canes in clear glass, and is often arranged in flower-like patterns. The Italian word millefiori means thousand flowers. This technique was perfected in Alexandria, Egypt, and began being used in Murano in the 15th century.
Mirrors