Venice Attractions

Venue: Museo del Vetro    When: Daily; not Wed

The Glass Museum on Murano, one of Venice's "official" islands, showcases the extraordinary complexity and richness of the unique Venetian glassblowing tradition. It covers all periods in the evolution of the art, from the 15th century to the present, as well as having a remarkable section on pre-historic glass artefacts.

The museum was founded in 1861, covering all aspects of life on the island of Murano. But with generous donations from glassworkers and collectors it soon became oriented towards glassblowing, to the point where in 1862 Zanetti, the founder, established a school of glassblowing next door to cement closer links to the living tradition of the vetrai (glassblowers) of Venice.

After Murano officially became part of Venice in 1923, the museum passed under the jurisdiction of the Musei Civici di Venezia, the city's association of civic museums. It underwent some serious reorganisation, as well as being enriched by the addition of glass from the Museo Correr and several other collections. It also gained an archaeological section, the highlight of which is a collection of glass from the necropolis of Enona.

Today the museum still receives regular donations from local glassblowers, which go into the modern collections. It thus serves as a growing and constantly updated archive for the evolving trends and traditions of the art.