Editor’s Note: This story is a part of “Masters of Experience,” a collection exploring the world’s most unique experiences, as advised by the visionaries who crafted them.
Story highlights
The workshops in Murano, Italy produce a few of the most stunning glass works in the world
Modern “maestros” work with furnaces that burn at over 1300 levels Celsius
Glassmaking stays one in every of Venice’s greatest recognized trades
Venice, Italy
NCS
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The glassmakers of 14th century Venice had it fairly good.
Unlike atypical residents, they may stroll round with swords in public (main standing image), have been utterly immune from state prosecution and their daughters have been invited to marry blue-blooded Venetian the Aristocracy.
But they have been additionally handled as if at the mercy of a jealous lover: by no means allowed to depart the confines of the Republic and prohibited – at ache of demise – from sharing even the most trivial commerce secrets and techniques past the metropolis partitions.
It was what you may name a passionate relationship, and one which displays simply how central glassmaking was to Venice’s economic system and fame.
Fast-forward to the current and the craft nonetheless thrives in Murano – a row of tiny islands strung collectively by bridges in the Venetian lagoon.
Here, tucked away in quiet workshops thick with an air of deep focus, furnaces burn at over 1300 levels Celsius as at the moment’s grasp glassmakers (or “maestros”) twist, roll and artfully prod a syrupy molten gloop into unspeakably elegant varieties.
Watch the video above to see the maestros at work.
What is so stunning about Italian design?