Murano - the island of glassmaking

 

The main water bus stop on Murano is Faro, which means lighthouse

Thursday                                                                                October 7, 2021

Today we spent the day on Murano, the island of glassmaking.  Surprisingly, this is our first trip to Murano.  It's surprising, in part, because all the hotels in Venice try to bring tourists to Murano, give them a tour of a specific glass making factory, and pressure them into buying before returning back to the hotel.  Some people like this service, and many others complain bitterly.

However, we took a leisurely approach.  After a delicious and filling breakfast at the Locanda on Torcello, we took the water bus to Murano.  The main water bus stop is called Faro, which it the Italian word for lighthouse.  And indeed, there is an active, working attractive lighthouse at the fondamente.  It was first constructed in 1912 and has an automatic light that is visible for a distance of 20 miles.

Il Faro (the lighthouse) has a front and rear range light, to help boats with navigation

The lighthouse is painted black and white, to help make it more visible from the lagoon.

Murano has been the home of glassmaking in the Veneto region (and in the world) since 1291, when all the glassblowers were forced to leave the island because of fear of fire for the wooden structures in Venice.  The glassblowing techniques were kept secret, and they perfected many glass inventions and improvements, such as developing optically clear glass and creating adventurine (gold infused in glass).

Families still run the fornace (furnaces) - about 200 of them remain on the island, according to Wikipedia.  You can walk around and tour them, and see the master artisans at work.

Above and below are some examples of the glassblowing furnaces found along the canals of Murano

Murano is a residential and working island, with a different feel than Venice proper.  It was settled starting in the 600's and constructed in the same fashion, with canals and land and has six distinct islands, connected by bridges and bisected by its own Grand Canal.

The water was high during the mid-day of our visit - a mini version of Acqua Alta in Venice.  You had to watch your step along the quays to keep from getting wet.

Walking and boats are the two main ways to get around on Murano

Bridges connect the various islands of Murano to each other - many fewer than in Venice, so you need to plan ahead.

Murano has it's own Grand Canal -as you can see, also very attractive.

As is true for Venice, everything that needs transporting in Murano is moved by boat.

Some of the structures still in use date from medieval times, such as this building on the quay.

On the island of glassmaking, we found a woman playing glasses for tips - Harry Potter Theme, no less!

She offered for Michael to give it a try - but no luck.  Trickier than it looks!