Murano, Island of Glass

Running from the Middle Ages to the heart of the contemporary world. Attilia Dorigato study focuses with particular attention on the master glass-makers of the late part of the twentieth century. This up-to-date survey draws on an extraordinary range of photographs, some of them being published for the first time, and constitutes a fundamental work for anyone who wishes to understand the history of glass. Special illustrated appendices are included to reveal the techniques and secrets of this fascinating craft; what tools the master glassblowers use; what goes into making specific glass pastes (with such exotic names as lattimo, calcedonio and avventurina); what is involved in the various procedures for working and finishing glass that have been invented and developed in Murano itself. The volume is completed with a comprehensive glossary which provides an essential key to the professional language of glass-making on Murano, explaining such local terms as murrine, vetro ghiaccio or vetro pulegoso.