Italy & Greece Tour Part IV: Venice Area
My Journey: Venice, Murano
4/1/2023 Mestra
Back on the bus, through Mestra, across the bridge and back on the boat with the tour group on our way to St. Mark’s.
We chose to stay with the group tour for the morning ride to Venice and for the glass factory demo. Our plan was then to make our own way for the day and meet back up with the tour to head home. However, when the guide confirmed that we would be heading home at 4:50 we chose to inform him that we would make our on way to the hotel that night.
Piazza San Marco
We made our way to the glass factory, Vecchia Murano, which is not on Murano but instead, it is in Venice near St. Mark’s. Now, it is not Murano if it is not made on Murano so… I was already disappointed that this was the factory shown to us but hey it is still glass.
They took us up the stairs to a tiny little glass studio where it was very hard to see the demo from where I sat. The show was flashy, quick, and without much knowledge departed which was kind of disappointing as Dez’s parents had not seen a hot glass demo before. Also, the gaffer had on Croc-like shoes. Now I know that hot shop safety standards for clothing are not as strict as one might think. Just know, you are not working in my studio with plastic shoes on. Maybe I am missing something.
Well, with that done, we were off on our own with the mission to complete most of what we wanted from Venice by midday. Our first destination was the Rialto Bridge which turned out to be another market on a bridge with a few jewelry vendors and a lot of steps.
We had two restraunts that we absolutely wanted to hit up. One of them was All’ Arco which had been featured on both Stanley Tucci Searching for Italy and Somebody Fed Phil. The order of the day was salted cod, baccala, on a little piece of bread. By the way, it was one of my favorite foods we had in Italy. We then headed off to our next food location.
All’ Arco
The next site was also nearby and had likewise been featured by Stanley Tucci and Somebody Feed Phil. Acqua e Mais served, among other things, seafood cones. My cone was filled with fried shrimp, sardines, and squid. The breading had a very salty taste to it and was absolutely my favorite dish from our time in Italy.
I have to say that Dez and I have relied on American Food TV to find many great food experiences. Definitely use resources other than the tour company should you ever find yourself on such a tour.
Everywhere you look, there are boats, gondoliers, moorings, and all things nautical. Had I not been excited to be here for the glass, I would have been excited to be here for the water.
Moorings
With a little time for window shopping, we started to slowly make our way to the boat dock to catch a water bus. While I missed finding coral in Verona, I did find some stores with it in Venice, plus, there were the stores selling glass and masks. The further we got from the main tourist street, the more we came across other market spaces like these fresh food markets selling vegetables and seafood. I really wish we had time to find some more seafood to eat. Octopus would have been great.
Sometimes, we got so off the beaten path that it really seemed like we were on an adventure.
Now that we had arrived at the transit point, Dez bought us all 24 hour passes for the water bus, trains, and buses. This should allow us to travel the water busses all day then take the bus to within two blocks of the hotel at night.
San Michele
The water bus took us by the island of San Michele, which has been a cemetery since 1807.
Murano
The next stop, was the island of Murano.
We walked toward the Grand Canal. All along the way, there were glass shops. Some looked to be very high end, but many sold the same items and had a very tourist gift shop vibe. The closer we got to the Grand Canal, the more unique the shops became. Ones with lampworkers working in the shop tended to have more handcrafted items and, unlike the glass blowing studios, there was no fee to watch them work nor any sales pitch.
Our first mission, though, was not to window shop, but to get to the Glass Museum, which lay on the other side of the Grand Canal across the Ponte Longo Lino Toffolo.
On the way to the Glass Museum, we found Davide’s shop. He is a well-liked glass blower working off a torch. It was suggested by a member of an online lampworkers group that I visit him. He was just as friendly as I had been led to believe he would be. His shop is full of beautiful seaweed inspired glass sculptures.
Everywhere you look, there is something to see. I just happened to see, out of the corner of my eye, this beautiful boat passing by and was able to get a picture of it.
Wooden Boat in the Canale di San Donato
We finally found our way to the Glass Museum. There was so much to see there that I have decided to make a separate entry about it.
Here is just a taste of what could be found inside.
One of my favorite modern pieces.
With the museum mission completed, it was time for snacks, so pastries it was. The mission then shifted to going for some Industrial Tourism with the goal of finding Carlo Dona’s Tool Shop and to buy some glass directly from the Effetre Factory.
As we did some more window shopping on the way there, it dawned on me that it was Saturday and both places might be closed. We popped into Bruno Giorgio’s that was just too inviting to walk by. There, we met his daughter who introduced us to Giorgio. They confirmed our fears about Carlo and Effetre being closed. Giorgio was very proud of his work. Dez bought several things from him, and in the end, I went back to him to buy something, too. His prices were very reasonable and they were very friendly.
Bruno Giorgio
After visiting with Bruno Giorgia and his daughter, he took us to Carlo Dona’s place to see if we could get him to come to the door despite it being Saturday. He did not and we went back to Giorgi’s shop. Once we finished our visit and business, we headed to the Effetre Factory even though we figured they would be closed too given that it was a Saturday. So no tools and no glass from Effetre for me this day.
As we started our journey back to the water bus, I saw a store that focuses on mosaic art. I had the idea to buy some tessera (mosaic glass) to play with. One of the few things that I have not played with from the book The Bead Maker At Ribe, is to use tessera to make beads as the Norse once did. I bought some murrine from the merchant as well. When I told her my plan for the glass, she informed me that she had someone from Denmark buy from her with the same idea and that they have had some success.
We had one last place to hit on the way toward the bus, Glass Think, who had also been recommended by the online lampworker group. Once we found the shop, we met the husband and wife team, both lampworkers. Dez and I both bought something from them and we spent a few minutes sharing with her my work as she looked at my necklace of furnace made glass from the Gulf War Project. Her compliments of my work felt very genuine and I greatly appreciated her time as we both seem to really love to work with eye motifs. Unlike how I was taught to make beads, she makes hers on a hollow mandrel and then cuts the bead off the hollow rod, leaving the bead with a jacketed perforation, very interesting.
Well, after hitting up a lot of gift shops and studios, it was time to leave Murano and head back to the water bus and to go to Burano, the Isle of Lace.
Murano Lighthouse
Tips and Lessons Learned:
Get the 24 hour pass for transit in the Venice Area.
Any glass working demo is likely to be rushed, performative, and attached with a sales pitch. Glass demos in American glass museums, like COMOG or in American studios like Historical Glass Works or Hands On Glass, will likely be more informative.
We found street food in Venice is better than sit down restaurants.
Many lampworkers on Murano have reasonable prices and are very friendly.
The backside of Murano has more to offer.
Industrial Tourism is not going to work on a Saturday or Sunday.
Back home, I played with the tessera, making some reticulated beads and foil beads. I also attempted to use the murrini on a bead that I am experienced at making but they did not come out. I am saving most of these materials to use at Pennsic.