You use a glass mirror to see your face;
you use works of art to see your soul.
George Bernard Shaw
Murano is an island town close to Venice's northern shore. It's not as large or as important as its neighbour, but it does still have a Grand Canal, some elegant palazzi and a couple of fine churches.
Murano is most famous for its glassmaking factories, and tourists throng the main canalsides, which are lined with shops and showrooms. In 1291 Venice's glass furnaces were all moved to this island, to protect the city from outbreaks of fire. Venice was famed for its glass, and any glass-makers who left the lagoon were viewed as traitors - there are lurid tales of them being pursued and assassinated. Glass is still Murano's trade, although it's as much a tourist attraction as a centre of industry nowadays, and lots of the glass on sale comes from China.
You'll see glass everywhere you turn: an outdoors Christmas tree of glass; a street-shrine with a glass Madonna and Child. It's a good place to buy your gifts, and although the canalsides get crowded, there are so many shops that you can generally manage to browse in peace.
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