As with lace, for Venetian
glass you're better
off going to the main
source of production, in
this case
Murano .
The Piazza and its
environs are prowled by
well-groomed young
characters offering free
boat trips to the island -
on no account accept, as
you'll be subjected to a
relentless hard sell on
arrival. If you are in the
market, just take the
vaporetto to the Colonna
stop and follow your eyes:
the most expensive and
most pretentious shops are
to the fore, the rest
stretch out beyond.
Pseudo-artistic ornaments,
extortionately expensive
tableware and ranks of
eye-bruising kitsch - a
life-size bush with a cast
of glass parrots - make up
the bulk of the stock, but
there are some more
tasteful pieces on sale in
the showrooms listed
below. Unless stated
otherwise, they are on
Murano.
Barovier,
Salizzada San Samuele 3216
(San Marco). Art gallery
dealing in work from
glass-blowers from all
over the world. This place
displays what is perhaps
the most inventive and
beautiful glass in Venice,
and - contrary to
appearances - the stuff is
for sale, albeit at very
high prices.
Barovier & Tosio
, Fondamenta Vetrai 28.
Not to be confused with
the gallery listed above,
this is a family-run firm
which can trace its roots
back to the fourteenth
century. Predominantly
traditional designs.
Berengo Fine Arts,
Fondamenta Vetrai 109a,
Fondamenta Manin 68 and
Salizzada San Samuele 3337
(San Marco). This firm has
pioneered a new approach
to Venetian glass
manufacture, with foreign
artists' designs being
vitrified by Murano
glass-blowers.
Domus Vetri d'Arte,
Fondamenta Vetrai 82.
Stocks work by the major
postwar Venetian glass
designers, artists such as
Barbini, Lino Tagliapietra,
Ercole Moretti and Carlo
Moretti.
L'Isola ,
Salizzada S. Moisč 1468,
San Marco. Chiefly a
showcase for work by Carlo
Moretti, the doyen of
modernist Venetian glass
artists.
Murano Collezioni,
Fondamenta Manin 1c.
Outlet for work from the
Venini, Moretti and
Barovier & Toso
factories.
Penso Davide,
Fondamenta Cavour 48. The
jewellery sold here is
both manufactured and
designed by the firm,
which specializes in
giving a new slant to
traditional Murano styles.
Seguso, Piazza
San Marco 143 and San
Marco Frezzeria 1230-6.
Traditional style and
quality Murano glass, much
of it created by
proprietor Archimede
Seguso, who is now in his
eighties.
Venini ,
Fondamenta Vetrai 50 (Murano)
and Piazzetta dei Leoncini
314 (San Marco). One of
the more adventurous
producers, Venini often
employs designers from
other fields of the
applied arts.
