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| Rainy Murano Morning |
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| Murano, like Venice, is built on stilts - some of the buildings are listing and need to be supported |
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| A dog's day on Murano Canals |
When thinking of Murano one thinks blown glass: pendants,
ear rings, souvenir figurines, glass beads etc. But, there are more products
coming out of these glass blowing factories than the ones one may buy in a
souvenir shop.
For instance, the cladding of the Sagrada Familia church
spires in Barcelona is covered with Murano glass to give it luminescence and
sparkle. Thousands of chandeliers and light fixtures found all over the world
are made here. Bowls, jars and mammoth sized ornaments are created here – all
in multi-hued masses of glass.
Prices range from a couple of Euros for a trinket, to 14,000
Euros for an ‘artistic’ creation bearing a famous designer’s name. Subjects
range from the ridiculous to the sublime, from trash to ‘hard to understand’
contemporary museum pieces.
All capture the imagination, all are intriguing – some are
tempting. So I bought a little pendant which almost shines like an Opal when moved
under a light source. But – there was no extravagant expenditure involved…
And here a few examples of Murano Glass…
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| Baptism Font |
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| Bowl with shell design |
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| A couple of thousand Euros buys this fish |
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| 14,000 Euros buys a pornographically inspired centre piece candelabra, made up of several glass ladies in compromising positions |
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| Museum piece |
I visited Murano via Vaporetto, the local floating public
transport, during consistent chilly drizzle with the result, that the little
town instead of brimming with tourists was almost deserted. Despite getting soaked,
I walked along the pleasant canals past dozens of glass blowing factories,
still closed shops and restaurants, but with barge borne garbage collection in
full swing. I entered a church which happened to be preparing for a baptism,
and found another treasure. The entire floor of the church was covered in
antique mosaics, mostly looking like permanent Persian carpets in terms of
design. But amongst the decorative segments were dozens of depictions of
animals, birds and flowers. Nothing on the outside of the church, which was a
simple structure with the obligatory leaning bell tower, would make one suspect
the beauty inside.
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| Floor Mosaic |
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| The Saint is resting above the Altar.... |
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| Murano Glass Church Chandelier |
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| Church in Murano with Floor Mosaics |
