Murano: Where Venetian Glass Was Born

Glass factories and gorgeous churches on the Venetian island of Murano

** Murano
Vaporetto: LN, 41, or Alilaguna lines Blu (blue) and Rosso (red) to Murano Full story

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Sights nearby
Burano (another island)
Torcello (another island)

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Hotel Murano Palace
Hotel Al Soffiador
Hotel Conterie
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A canal on Murano. (Photo by Maurice)
A canal on Murano. (Photo by Maurice) The island of Murano is the biggest of the three major islands in Venice's northern lagoon. It offers a sense of what Venice might have been like as a small village, well before the tourists invaded.

The docks and canals of Murano bustle with fishermen unloading the day's catch, its calle are heated by the furnaces of its many glass factories, an age-old tradition of this island and a craft that has long since spread to Venice itself.

The glass of Murano

Shoppers can head directly to the outlet stores—in fact, the quickest way here is on one of the junket boats from Piazza San Marco, though you'll have to suffer through a tour of some glass factory and a hard-sell at the end.

They take quality seriously at most stores on Murano, where you never pay the sticker price (bargain down to at least 2/3 of the asking price). Even better, in many of the workshops glassblowers will create items, especially trinkets, for you on the spot.

If you like your artisan craft with a bit of history, head to the Museo Vetraio di Murano (Fondamenta Giustinian 8, tel. +39-041-739-586, www.museiciviciveneziani.it), where you can examine a large collection of glass objects from ancient Roman times through the 19th century as well as see displays on the history and practice of the craft itself. It's open 10am–6pm (5pm in winter), and closed Tuesdays. You can get in free with the Museum Pass.

The gorgeous churches of Murano

The Basilica dei Ss. Maria e Donato on Murano
The Basilica dei Ss. Maria e Donato on MuranoTo get away from the glass, visit the church of San Pietro Martire, filled with the unexpected riches of oil paintings by Tintoretto, Veronese, and Giovanni Bellini and some lovely carved paneling in the sacristy.

The truly ancient church of Santa Maria e Donato turns the gorgeous exterior of its apse to the canal so you can admire the stacked colonnades, dog-tooth molding, and inlaid Byzantine designs. The current structure was rebuilt in the 12th century, but its uses Corinthian columns that date from Roman times to the 6th century, a 6th-century pulpit, a patterned floor from 1141 that rivals that of San Marco, and some 15th-century frescoes.

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This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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