| Murano Glass is a very versatile piece of | | | | etc. |
| glassmaking art. There exist various colors, | | | | |
| techniques, materials that can vary depending | | | | One of the most famous types of Murano glass |
| on the look of the object the glassmaker is | | | | in the world is millefiori glass - literally |
| creating. It's well known that Venetian | | | | a visiting card of Murano glassmakers |
| artists do not add any special coloring | | | | nowadays. In short, millefiori is glasswork |
| chemicals to color the glass. To create a | | | | technique, which makes millions of |
| certain color of the transparent glass, the | | | | one-of-a-kind patterns on glassware. The term |
| glassmaker adds different combinations of | | | | "Millefiori" is a combination of two Italian |
| metals. The compounds involved in this | | | | words "mille" (thousand) and "fiori" |
| process are very sensitive to proportions so | | | | (flowers). |
| one should be extremely accurate in mixing | | | | |
| them. For example, aquamarine color is | | | | The millefiori technique involves two basic |
| created through the use of combination of | | | | procedures. The first technique is layering |
| copper and cobalt compounds, green - copper | | | | of a number of layers of glass of different |
| oxides, ruby red uses a gold solution as a | | | | colors in a mold that produces different |
| coloring agent. | | | | patterns viewable only from the cut ends. |
| | | | These patterns are called murrines. Further, |
| The base of many types of Murano glass is | | | | the murrines are embedded into clear or |
| Cristallo - a special clear glass of highest | | | | colored glass to create unique combinations |
| quality. This name is associated with the | | | | of patterns. |
| names of precious stones - as this glass has | | | | |
| a perfect transparency quality. | | | | Though nowadays there are many famous schools |
| | | | of glassmaking in the world, the Murano |
| Another great invention of Venetian | | | | glassmakers still hold the positions of the |
| glassmakers is lattimo glass (milky glass) - | | | | leaders in introduction of many technological |
| an opaque white glass. Mostly lattimo glass | | | | processes and innovations in glass creations. |
| is used in the form of thin canes to make | | | | Murano glass is used in many spheres of |
| elaborate lacy patterns in clear glass. | | | | artisan work - production of lighting |
| | | | fixtures (chandeliers, wall sconces etc.), |
| Murano artisans used a lot of techniques of | | | | glass sculptures, parts of home decoration |
| glassmaking originated from the Ancient | | | | pieces like door handles, curtain rods etc. |
| times. They made a lot of improvements in | | | | |
| many processes creating new designs and | | | | Today, Murano is the home of the Museo |
| elaborating the quality of the glass itself. | | | | Vetrario (Glass Museum) in the Palazzo |
| Among the types of glass inherited from | | | | Giustinian, which holds displays on the |
| Egyptians, Romans, and Middle Eastern | | | | history of glassmaking as well as glass |
| glassmakers one can mention smalto (enameled | | | | samples ranging from Egyptian times through |
| glass), aventurine (glass with threads of | | | | the present day. |
| gold), imitation of gemstones made of glass | | | | |