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Families & small groups
From
950$ week            Get Quotation

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Rome, Florence, Venice and the South of Italy.

2009 DIVE EXTENSIONS

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SIDE TRIPS FOR NON-SKIERS

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FOR ADVENCED SKIER GROUPS

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The art of Glass Blowing

Introduction
Glassmaking in Murano comes from a common thread in Venetian history - the status of the settlement as a bridge between west and east. Glassmaking was an art that had reached a height in the countries of the Middle East - particularly in Syria, Egypt and Palestine - and Venice, looking outwards to the sea as always, was fertile soil for the specialised skills of the trade.
The Art of Glass-blowing
The process of making Murano glass is rather complex. Most Murano glass art is made using the lampworking technique. The glass is made from silica which becomes liquid at high temperatures. As the glass passes from a liquid to a solid state, there is an interval when the glass is soft before it hardens completely. This is when the glass-master can shape the material.
The most important factories today
Some of the Murano's historical glass factories remain today as well known brands, amongst them Venini, Barovier & Toso, Pauly, and Seguso. The oldest glass factory is Pauly & C. - Compagnia Venezia Murano, founded in 1866.
Materials used in the Galss art
The other raw materials, called flux or melting agents, soften at lower temperatures. The more sodium oxide present in the glass, the slower it solidifies. This is important for hand-working because it allows the glassmaker more time to shape the material. The various raw materials that an artisan might add to a glass mixture are sodium (to make the glass surface opaque), nitrate and arsenic (to eliminate bubbles) and colouring or opacifying substances.
Colours
Colours, techniques and materials vary depending upon the look a glassmaker is trying to achieve. Aquamarine is created through the use of copper and cobalt compounds whereas ruby red uses a gold solution as a colouring agent. The millefiori technique begins with the layering of sliced canes of glass and conterie or tiny glass beads are formed by cutting thin glass canes into sections when cold then rounded when hot. Filigree, incalmo, enamel painted, engraving, gold engraving, lattimo, ribbed glass and submersion are just a few of the other techniques a glassmaker can employ.
A special Tecnique: Sommerso
Sommerso (lit. "submerged" in Italian), or "sunken glasses", is a form of artistic Murano glass that has layers of contrasting colors (typically 2), which are formed by dipping the object in molten glass; the outermost layer, or casing, is often clear. Sommerso was first formed in Murano during the late thirties, made popular by Seguso d'Arte in the fifties. This process is a popular technique for vases, and is sometimes used to form sculptures.
Tools
It is essential that Murano artisans use tools in the making of their glass. Some of these tools include borselle (tongs or pliers used to hand-form the red-hot glass), canna da soffio (blowing pipe), pontello (an iron rod to which the craftsman attaches the object after blowing in order to add final touches), scagno (the glass-master's workbench) and tagianti (large glass-cutting clippers).