The famous Murano glass and other Murano, Italy Things to Do Tips

The most famous item about Murano must be its renowned Murano glass, which is hand made by the skillful glass makers here, with skills passed down from generations. When you are in Murano, you will see many shops selling Murano glass. In fact, many shops in Venice sell Murano glass as well (probably for tourists that do not have the time to come to Murano).

Firstly, be careful because not all the glass items in the shops are made from Murano glass. Those which are authentic will have stickers on them which will tell you that they are the real stuff, as compared with items made from normal glass. Secondly, there are many many items and designs (as well as shops), so take you time to consider what you want to buy. Cheap items made from Murano glass can cost about $10-$30 euros (e.g. I bought a photo frame made from Murano glass which costs about $15 euros), and expensive ones can go up to hundreds to thousands of Euros.

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When you are in Murano, you should try to visit a glass factory and see how the skilled glass-makers produce the beautiful glass items. One of such a glass factory is the Mazzega Glass Factory, with a selection of some of the best glass makers in Murano (more information is at their website below). Mazzega Glass Factory is conveniently located along the Fondamenta Da Mula street (no. 147), along the Grand Canal of Murano (Canal Grande di Murano).

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Phone: +39 041 736888
Website: http://www.mazzega.it/mazzega/chisiamo.html
Other Contact: Fax: +39 041 739079

The Grand Canal of Murano (Canal Grande di Murano) is the main canal of Murano (just like the Grand Canal of Venice is to Venice), however it is not as big and famous as the Grand Canal of Venice. There is a bridge which crosses this canal called the Ponte Vivarini bridge, this is located near to the Palazza da Mula as well as the Mazzega Glass Factory. When you are on top of the Ponte Vivarini bridge, you will have very good views of the island of Murano (see photos). More photos of the Grand Canal of Murano are at the travelogue section of this VT page.

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The Rio dei Vetrai is the small canal of Murano which links to the Grand Canal of Murano (Canal Grande di Murano). There is a valporetto (water bus) stop called Colonna which my wife and I landed in Murano. After that, you can walk along the two streets along this canal called Fondamenta dei Vetrai and Fondamenta Manin. There are many shops here selling Murano glass, and you can see many boats parked along the banks of the canal as well as people selling vegetables and fruits. There is also a beautiful church called San Pietro Martire situated here. More photos of the Rio dei Vetrai are at the travelogue section of this VT page.

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Besides the famous Murano glass, the Santi Maria e Donato is another of the major attraction of Murano. This basilica was built in the 12th century, and is one of the oldest in the Venezia lagoon area. The apse end of this basilica, which is made of brown bricks, is very beautiful (see photo). Inside the building, the floor is colourful and is a jigsaw of geometric and allegorical designs. The highlight is a lovely apsidal mosaic of the Madonna done in blue on a golden background. This place is opened daily from 9am to 12noon, and from 3.30pm to 6pm.

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The San Pietro Martire is an impressive church located next to the Rio dei Vetrai canal of Murano. The tower of this church is a landmark in Murano as it stands tall above the buildings of the island. This chuech contains a couple of Bellinis and a Veronese, and is lit by ornate Murano chandeliers.

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The Museo Vetrario is housed in the Palazzo Giustiniani, a former residence of the Bishop of Torcello. This museum houses more than 4000 pieces of glassware, ranging from early grave goods to modern pieces of glass art. This museum is opened on Thursdays to Tuesdays (10am to 5pm).

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One of the charms about Murano are its bridges, especially the Ponte Vivarini bridge (the only bridge across the Grand Canal of Murano). There are three smaller bridges across the Rip dei Vetrai (a smaller canal linking to the Grand Canal of Murano), of which one of them allows for disabled people on wheelchairs to cross via a motorised platform (see photo). There are also two bridges across the Canale di S Donato (another small canal linking to the Grand Canal).

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Faro is the area in Murano which houses one of the valporetto (water bus) stops. There is a wide street here called Viale Garibaldi (perhaps the widest in Murano, see photo) and you can find many shops here selling souvenirs, especially the famous Murano glass. There is also a very tall lighthouse just next to the Faro valporetto stop (see photo), which is a tall landmark of Murano, together with the nearby tall tower of the San Pietro Martire church.

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