Murano has conserved for centuries the art of the glass with jealousy, to such point that in ancient Serenissima Republic of Venice, nobody had the faculty of being able to leave the island without official permission.

Although its tradition has been handed on for centuries, generation in generation, from master to "garzonetto", than like from father in son the history has realized an evolution that continues however to respect the true and integral customs, and has carried until our days the largeness and the beauty of the works in glass realized in the island of Murano.

The fascination of this art is therefore impossible to describe, its presentation would demand attention and acquaintance. We will try to describe shortly some important points for who had the interest of knowing more on this wonderful and unique art. For this reason we introduce the description of the work of the glass of Murano with some steps drawn from the book "Il Fuoco" of the famous poet Gabriele D' Annunzio:

 

“The work proceededs feverishly around the furnace. At the top of the irons for blowning the fused glass swelled, snaking, became silver like a little cloud, shone like the moon, burst, was divided in the thousand thinnest, crackling, rutilanti fragments, more meager of the threads that are looked at morning time in the forests between branch and  branch. The craftsmen modeled the harmonious goblets, everyone obeying in operating to a rhythm its just generated from the quality of the matter and the custom of the moviments apt to dominate it. The "garzoni", they placed one small burning paste pear in the points indicates from the masters and the pear grew tall, was twisted, changed in a handle, a lip, a spout, a stem, one base. The flush under the devises was dispersed little little; and the rising goblet was exposed again to the flame, drived in canes; then it was malleable, ductile, sensitive feature to most tenuous touches that they adorned it, that refined it, than they rendered it in compliance with the model transmitted from  ancestors or to the free invention of the new creator. The human gestures were extraordinarily agile and light around  those elegant creatures of the fire, the blown and the iron, like the gestures of a silent dance .”

 

 

The creation of the glass begins from the mineral sands fused in containers of refractory in the furnaces that come held to high temperatures. In the first phase the sands come composed to create of several types of glass, as an example crystal, and vary types of colors, as an example zaffiro, and tonality. Often the compositions come classified estates from furnace furnace with the scope to hold only the created glass.

The temperature of fusion and creation of the varied glass from 1200° to the 1400°, the hot minerals are mixed to form a liquid glass. This is the phase in which the glass it comes stirred in order to obtain of second the intentional color to of put sands fusing. The phase of the working of the glass needs a lowering of the temperature of the furnaces to 800° making to take greater consistency to the glass, the phase of control of its quality comes carried out with blown tests that measure its elasticity.

 The liquid glass is captured from the assistants of the master, calls "servente" or "garzonetto", and wrap it to canes of metal for blown and work. This procedure, called “evare”, consists in making the glass fusing on the metal cane, that it comes raised with ability from the "sevente" that soon wraps it on, making rotate the cane fastly on and straining if the amount of glass is in excess.

On the top of the cane the glass is taken and add to several materials, leaf of gold, silver leaf, murrina, thin canes of glass, pastes for the color, avventurina, than to fusion they will take shape in the incandescent glass and will be decorative part of the final work.

Usually the glass it's warmed in furnaces more time during the working process, famous the saying "fatto alla prima" (made at first), that it mean that the work of the final object will not demand a second warmth in the furnace. The prepared glass comes carried the master who of it will realize the object with ability.

The master on “scagno”( his working sit ), creates the shapes and coordinates the "servente" to prepare the glass, and to carry it when the master needs it for the working, the "servente" pose down the glass where the master say, and give shape and substance with maestry and art.

Many objects demands that the Master bring them back to temperature for numerous times, between this makes the glass is worked with tools, pliers and tools of varied type.

The glass is pulled, crushed, pinched, ironed, striped, lengthened with pliers, and cut for along and in wide with scissors. As jugglers the masters turn the glasses in the tops of canes making turn the canes forming symmetrical circles in the air. All these movements give the possibility to the glass to assume the wanted shapes. The  canes with a little hole are used in order to make pression inside. The air blowed create glass bubbles that will make the shape of glasies rounded for goblet, vase and a lot others.

While the assistants blows and wheel the glass in order to maintain it in axis perfectly, the master models giving it of the shape with shovels in wood bathed in water. An other phase and technique of the working are said "pontello". Used in order to allow to build all the object without ruin the shape of the base. Moreover the assistant exchanges the cane of the master where is attacked the glass object, in phase of creation, to a new cane with other small piece of glass, in this way it is possible to capture and to manipulate the object from other positions.

Often tools in wood are used for the blowing of the glass. These are in wood of pear tree and are used as stamps, made from craftsmen of the wood by hand. Also the tools in metal, as scissors pliers, etc, are created and worked from skillful craftsmen by hand who discuss and design the shapes upon request of the glass masters.

The glass object is endured after its working in an appropriate furnace, saying "tempera", than as the same name defines, it diminishes the temperature gradually and it avoids safely that the glass can't explode cause  it has been exposed at differents bounces of temperature during the working process. It is used to make lie the glasses as soon as it has been worked on sand in order to avoid that the warm glass can be folded and collapsed on itself.

Afetr all this processes in furnace, an other phase of the work begins: the delicate cold work of the glass, said "Moleria".

The grinding of the glass is one of the used techniques in order to create particular effects on the superfices of the objects. The glass in this phase comes smoothed down from imperfections and embellished with rabbets, cuted, grindings and incised that it gain various lights and colors. The glass worked in this way gives only effects to the final object, in the last few decades many works come realized with great importances to the grinding. The used machinery moves stone wheels of several measures in water bathtubs and allow work the objects by hand from the artists.

 

From a old letter in years 1880. 

“There is not a doubt that the mother of all these Arts is that one de' Fornasieri di Murano, while from this born "Quari", than they are reduced in Spechi( mirrors), Lastre and Supiadi (blowed), and not the cane pierced for the Art of the Perleri (masters who made beads), and full cane to use the "Margariter", all these Art have their provision from the Furnaces of Murano, without of that the same arts cannot use their works”. 

 
(this content need a better English traduction)