Murano Glass

In response to the comment left below on an old post, I thought I would do my best to inform tourists on ways to spot the authentic Murano Glass in a vast sea of many fake glass shops with products made in China.

Almost all "serious" glass is from Murano. By "serious" I mean collector's items. The more expensive a shop is, the more likely the glass was made in Murano. That is not to say that all Murano glass is expensive. You can by trinkets for as little as 3 euro. The best shops are those that either make the items in the shop--you often see a person sitting in the back with a flame, making small items, or stores that sport the this logo in their window. This association guarantees that the products in the specified store are actually made in Murano, even though there are many authentic stores that do not belong to the association.

The most common-sense thing to do is to AVOID the most obvious tourist shops. If a store sells masks, glass, maps, Venice t-shirts, and magnets, then the glass (like the other products in the store) is most probably not from Venice. Try to find little shops that only sell glass! There are many glass boutiques where artists create jewelry and vases of their own design. These pieces are much more unique and very special. One of my favorite jewelry designers are the Sent Sisters, who have a small shop in Dorsoduro. Supporting the local industries is fundamental in a city as fragile as Venice!