The art of heating fine sand, sodium calcium and a few minerals and rolling it into glass was invented by the ancient Phoenicians. Around about the 7th century an Italian navigator brought the process ...

Fun Fact: Murano glassblowing was once so sacred that a law introduced in 1295 prevented glassmakers from leaving the island. Government officials feared local glassblowing secrets would be leaked to ...

Some 27 of the world’s leading contemporary artists—including Ai Weiwei, Sarah Sze, Paul McCarthy, and Laure Prouvost—have been enlisted to collaborate with local Italian artisans to create new works ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Rebecca Ann Hughes covers travel, culture and food in Europe. Venice’s 1000-year-old tradition of glassblowing is not an art stuck ...

In 1291, a law required that all glassmakers relocate onto Murano, an isle just over a mile away. The furnaces or fornos used in glassmaking were at constant risk of catching fire, and as Venice was ...

Murano has been Venice’s glorious glass-making island since the 13th century. Tolerating life in Venice means constantly navigating its delicate collection of islands, bridges, boats and canals.