Venice, Italy, is famous for its serenity and its precious, colorful, and elaborate hand-blown glass. The northern Venetian island of Murano has been Venice’s famed glassmaking center for centuries. Because I worked at the two hotels mentioned below, I left Venice with stories about the delicate and precious glass chandeliers.
Murano, The Glass Island
Riding the vaporetti that ply the Grand Canal features large in a Venetian holiday, so why not head for the island of Murano? Some of the world’s most delicate chandeliers have been made by the artisans of Murano, still demonstrating their handicraft before the furnaces in the glassmaking factories around the island. Famous family names of the craft are Venini, Pauly, Seguso, and Barovier & Toso, one of world’s 100 oldest companies, around since 1295.
Murano Museum of Glass
The Museum of Glass is located in the Palazzo Giustinian, an ancient palace of a bishop, around the corner from the 4.2 vaporetto stop from S. Zaccaria. The world’s largest collection of Murano glass dating from the 15th century is on display. The guild of glass-making on Murano dates from the 13th century, as evidenced by documents. Of the three large chandeliers in the grand foyer, the largest has 60 arms and dates from 1864, when it won a gold medal in the Murano Glass Exposition. Closed on Wednesdays, otherwise open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and until 5 p.m. from March through October.
Hotel Danieli
Step into the vaulted lobby of the Hotel Danieli located between St. Mark’s Square and the Bridge of Sighs. It’s easy to imagine this 14th-century, pink-hued structure with enviable views of the Grand Canal as a former palace of the wealthy Doge Dandolo. Turn left into the tea salon with the enormous fireplace mantle. Above your head, three gorgeous Murano crystal chandeliers sparkle with delicate bits of green, blue, pink, and red hanging in a spectacular setting. The intricate cleaning of the chandelier droplets and branches from a tall ladder is nearly a full-time activity, taking weeks on end.
In September, the Lido beach resort is home to the glittering Venice Film Festival and has long been a playground of the rich and famous. Hotel Excelsior, built in 1908 in exotic Moorish style, faces the Adriatic Sea on one side and the Grand Lagoon on the other. Three large chandeliers hang from 18-foot ceilings in the elaborate Sala Stucchi, the third-floor ballroom used for weddings and banquets. A huge center chandelier is the largest and is considered a treasure. Musicians and bands must conform to stringent house rules on decibels for fear of damage. Ask to have a peek and stay for lunch on the pretty terrace. Sunny day? Walk to the public beach in 15 minutes.
Preservation
Four century-old chandeliers with a combined weight of 1 ton were carefully removed from Sant’Agostino town hall to be repaired by visiting master craftsmen from Murano. Although not early glass, these are prized examples of the 18th-century Rezzonico style, richly decorated in ornamental flowers, and are valued at approximately $250,000 each.
Interesting Tip From the Danieli
Precious, older glass chandeliers can easily be detected, as they were designed for candles prior to the invention of electricity. Newer chandeliers were designed with wiring inside the glass arms, while valuable, older ones may have wiring carefully attached to the outside of the arms. Venezia è bella!
