Handmade glass in Venice: Mauro Vianello

Venice and glass goes together like hands and gloves. And tourists visiting Venice often want to visit a glass factory. Out at Murano, the glass blowing island in the laguna, you can get that possibility. All through the day tourists are welcome to one of the many glass workshops to watch artists working.

You don’t need to visit Murano to meet glass artists though. You find them in Venice as well, and the best ones, the most charming ones, are those out of the busy tourists calles (streets). A few years ago we stumbled upon Mauro Vianello quite by chance. Through his studio window we saw him working with his long, colourful sticks of glass, we opened the door, walked into his studio Glasshandmade, and right there and then we were hooked.

Mauro kept on working while talking with our daughter, asking her what she wanted him to make, all the time letting her see how he worked with his art, how he created small animals, a heart for a necklace, a pinocchio……… Marta, and also both her parents were hooked, and there and then we started a collection: glass art from handmade glass.

Are you interested in a quiet place to stay in Venice? What about choosing a small flat instead of a hotel? Let me recommend Nati House. It is a small flat situated in Cannaregio, well out of the tourist crowds. There you can make your own meal if you want to, shop groceries from the small local stores, you can sit on the small terrace watching the boats passing by, and still you are only a short walk from the railways station, Canal Grande and Piazzale Roma.

To find out more about Mauro Vianello you can visit his blog, or you can read about him at tripadvisor (where his is No 1 among Venezian attractions)