Murano, Venice (Italy)

Murano, an archipelago of islands in the Venetian Lagoon near Venice, is famed for its premier glass-blowing industry (and in particular its lampworking). While Murano has been a trading port since the seventh century, it has only been the centre of Venetian glass-blowing since 1291, when a Serenissima Republic ordinance decreed that glass-blowing be banned in Venice for fear of setting alight the city's (mostly wooden) buildings.

We caught the number 5 ferry from San Marco Square to Murano. Here's some of the buildings we passed on the way:

Regina	Gritti Palace Hotel

Hotel Bauer Palazzo	Hotel Gabrielli

San Giorgio	Hotel Bucintoro

Hotel Ca' Formenta	Scuola Navale Militare "Francesco Morosini"

As one approaches Murano, its distinctive lighthouse (Faro di Murano) looms larger and larger. Established in 1912, The lighthouse marks the entrance to the Venetian lagoon.

As we arrived in Murano, somebody ushered us to a free display of glass-blowing. Here's a photo of two burly Italian men heating glass in the furnace.

Hot molten glass just out of the furnace.

And actual glass- blowing:

Making a glass horse doesn't involve blowing, but it's pretty impressive nevertheless. This glass horse cost us 10 euros, and we found that as we wondered further from the boat terminal the price went down to 8 euros and eventually 3 euros.