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MURANO GLASSWORKS

October 19, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Venice, Italy

Murano Ornaments (divantart.com)

Murano Ornaments (divantart.com)

With the advent of the popularity of glass Christmas ornaments, it is not surprising that Venice, home to the world’s most famous glassmakers, was soon involved.  By the late 1800s, the production of Christmas ornaments became one of the most important niches of the Venetian glass industry.  During the holidays Venice’s major shopping thoroughfares are filled with windows absolutely packed with wonderful glass Christmas treasures, all locally produced on the nearby island of Murano, the glassmaking capital of the world.

Skilled glassworkers fleeing from the Crusades in Asia Minor arrived in Venice in the early 13th century, where they established the first glass factories in continental Europe.  After the main islands banned the presence of foundaries in 1291, the various glassworking enterprises consolidated to the nearby island of Murano.  The oldest of these companies, Barovier & Toso, was founded in 1295 and is still in business.

Murano Glassworks (wikipedia.com)

Murano Glassworks (wikipedia.com)

The beautiful and rare glass productions of Murano were a holiday favorite right from the start, especially among Europe’s upper classes.  But early glass Christmas gifts from Venice usually took the form of drinking vessels or trinkets.  True Christmas ornaments didn’t show up until the 19th century, but the demand for these quickly skyrocketed.  Venice has since become a mecca for hand-made glass Christmas ornaments.  As if to underscore its supremacy in this arena, every year Murano erects the world’s largest glass Christmas tree.  In 2010 it weighed in at over three tons.

The island of Murano, less than a mile northwest of the main islands of Venice, is easily reached by boat.  In addition to glass shops and some glassworks that may be open to visitors, Murano is home to the Museum of Glass Art.  It is open year-round from 10:00am-4:00pm (later hours in Summer).  The cost of admission is E4.00.  Web: https://museovetro.visitmuve.it (official Murano Museum website).

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Italy/Malta

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

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Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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