Murano in Naples

It was 9:30 on a Wednesday and the girls are headed out. Four of the chaplain's wives (me included) were headed out to a wholesale place where they sell Murano glass from Venice. Two of the wives are getting ready to move and wanted to pick up a few items before leaving and I just want to see for myself.


So beautiful! I wish I had taken my camera, but I just didn't think a camera and GLASS ~ together ~ were a good idea!


So, how about a little history about Murano Glass instead:


In most of the English speaking countries of the world at least, glass blowing is usually seen at carnivals, amusement parks, craft shows and festivals, where they blow glass while you watch and then can later buy in one or some of their gift shops. But there was time when glassblowing ~ actually glass making in general ~ was an elite profession dominated by craftsmen in the Venetian Republic of Italy, most notably on the island of Murano in the Venetian Lagoon.





Murano was a commercial port as far back as the 7th Century and by the 10th Century it had grown into a prosperous trading center with its own coins, police force, and commercial aristocracy. Then, in 1291, the Venetian Republic ordered glassmakers to move their foundries to Murano because the glassworks represented a danger to the city of Venice, whose city buildings were built mostly with wood at the time.


It wasn't long until the glassmakers were the leading citizens in Murano. Artisans were granted the right to wear swords and enjoyed immunity from prosecution from the notoriously high-handed Venetian state. By the late 14th Century, the daughter's of the glassmakers were allowed to marry into Venice's blue-blood families.




This did have one catch, however. Glassmakers weren't allowed to leave the Republic. If they did, they risked assasination or having his hands cut off by the secret police. (Although, in reality, these defectors were never treated quite so harshly.)






One of the things that made these Murano glassmakers so special is that they were the only craftsmen in all of Europe that knew how to make glass mirrors. Their virtual monopoly on quality glass lasted for centuries.




New technologies developed and the colonist emigrated to the New World, so the world of glass began to change as well. Murano is still an exporter of mirrors and exquisite glassware and jewelry, and its factories produce modern items such as faucet handles, glass lampshades, and electric chandeliers.


So, even though I didn't take a trip to Venice and the glassmaking island of Murano today, I did have a little glance at the beauty of Murano "through the glass" . . . so to speak.






New friends, new places, it was lovely!



Ciao, Bella! Mimi


(PS Karis and Misha ~ see if you can find Murano on the the world map. If you can't, I know for sure that you can find Venice)