2026 Carnevale of Venice, costumes and events
Category: Venice, Murano
Giorgio Giuma – Where Imagination Has No Limits
A Tribute to my Mentor in Murano
He was unbendable, determined, hard-headed and above all a family man. His love of glass was only surpassed by his love for Valeria, his wife. We met in San Francisco in the 90s through the Italian Trade Commission which sponsored a group of 20 or so furnaces from Murano who came to a small trade…
3 Days in Paradise – Venice
What to do if you have only 3 days in Venice, from the moment you arrive at the airport or the train station or Piazzale Roma. The tips I use to buy my vaporetto pass, book my visits to the Basilica San Marco (because no matter how many times I go to Venice, I always…
Murano – Glass Island & Italy Magazine
We just wrote an article for Italy Magazine, the online magazine is a great source of news for Italy and what is going on. You can read the entire story here: https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/brief-history-murano-glass-told-expert It is an online magazine that you can subscribe to for free and enjoy stories of all the regions of Italy, places to…
400% Price Increase of Methane (Gas) is Threatening Murano Glass Furnaces
The latest crisis facing Murano furnaces is the exorbitant increase in Methane prices. Methane is the gas used to melt the sand into glass in most of the furnaces in Murano. It is piped under the lagoon directly to Murano. The latest is a double whammy occurring on the tails of the shut-down for COVID.…
Venice Glass Week 2021
Venice Glass Week of 2021 was exciting but exhausting. There were so many exhibits, workshops that it would take a month to enjoy them all. There were exhibits not only in Venice, Murano and Giudecca but also in Mestre, the town before the bridge. In all, between open studios, gallery exhibits and events there were…
The art of glass bead making awarded by Unesco
The 15th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO has officially included the “Arte delle Perle di Vetro” This comes after several years of determined women of Venice, Cristina Bedin, Marisa Convento, and Claudia Cottica proposed to UNESCO so that this cultural heritage would not be lost.…
Murano an Island in Crisis
Today Murano is again in crisis due partially to the COVID19 shutdown and the lack of tourists since Italy is allowing the citizens of only a handful of countries easy entry. The crisis was already in progress due to the competition of inexpensive glass from other sources which you can find when you walk along…
Another Crisis in Murano: Glass Furnaces Re-Start Costs
I always knew we in the Murano Glass, Venetian Glass and beads world were a small eco system. But COVID19 and the resultant shutdown of Italy, most specifically Venice and Murano have really brought it home. Venetians say we hate tourist and the annoyance to our daily lives they create. UNESCO says Venice can’t maintain the…