Visiting Murano, the island of the glassblowers, is something I do every time I am in Venice. I love strolling around along the fondamentas, sitting down for a cappucino or a risotto frutti del mare, or enjoying the most amazing old mozaic in one of the churches.
What disappoints me every time though is the visit to the glassblowing workshop. It is all so set up for the tourists, the guides and glassblowers all look tired to the bones of making just one more performance.
Much more charming workshops are to be found in hidden and remote places around the city, and by accident we stumbled upon one of them during one of our walks; Glasshandmade. There we met Mauro Vianello who made the most amazing glass art. I fell for a blue and green egg which is now part of my glass collection. Marta fell for a turtle which Mauro made while we were watching. We had to come back two days later to get it, after it was burnt.
Mauro's pieces are real pieces of art, and they are alot more expencive than the pieces you find in the tourist shops at Murano. But they are well worth the prize. I will go back during my next visit to purchase more.
I wish I could take you all with me on a guided tour to Artigianato d'Arte in Calle della Mandola. You will have to do with these photos though.....
