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Murano glass history goes way back.

According to tradition, it was discovered by chance around 5000 B.C. by Phoenician merchants who landed at the sandy banks of a Syrian river and set a fire using some saltpeter blocks they were carrying.

Those blocks, melting in the heat of the fire and mixed with the sand, created this new material.

Other theories find the origin of glass in the waste produced by the fusion process of other materials.

The first glass production centers were in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria, and it was in the 10^th century that it reached the Mediterranean area.

The Romans further developed the glass art over the 1st century B.C. inventing the blowpipe, the clear glass and the mold-blown glass technique. 

According to scholars, the art of glassmaking was brought to Venice by Crusaders coming for the East, in the 11^th century.

Due to the risk of fires caused by the ovens, and to better preserve the glass making secrets, the Doge confined all the glass producers on the island of Murano with an edict in 1291, therefore giving rise to the glassmaking tradition which will last for centuries.

Over the years, the Murano glassmaking tradition developed, thanks to new discoveries and innovations, crafting more and more creative and elaborate products.

The production is handmade by glass masters who have the ability to shape this material into objects which are real masterpieces.

The main raw material of Murano glass is silica sand mixed with soda or potash, to lower the fusing temperature.

 Subsequently, a stabilizer is added to the mix, such as calcium carbonate, in order to give the glass more resistance.

Adding metal oxides in the oven or directly on the glass matter during molding will bring color to the glass.

Therefore, the final color of the glass depends on which metal compound is used.

Fusion is carried on overnight at a temperature of about 1.400°C (ca. 2,550°F) and in the morning the masters will find the melted material ready to be molded.

At this point, the glass is taken out of the oven with steel canes at a temperature of 1.100°C (ca. 2,010°F) and then molded with various techniques.

Once removed from the oven, the glass matter cools down quickly: once it reaches 600°C (ca. 1,110°F) it cannot be worked anymore and it has to go back in the oven for the temperature to rise and the master to be able to work it again. 

The group of people working the glass is called the “piazza” and it includes the glass master and a few assistants, each of them carrying on a specific role in the process.

Once the product is finished it has to rest in specific cooling ovens at a temperature of 550°C (ca. 1,020°F), at least for 24 hours.

Once rested, all details will be redefined by expert glass grinders, who will smooth, polish and refine the product.

This detailed and careful process is what defines all My Venetian Chandelier products; thanks to the constant research and innovation we continue to offer the very best of the Made in Italy craftmanship.