VENICE: Murano island - glass making [HD]

Murano is famous for its glass making. Murano’s reputation as a center for glass making was born when the Venetian Republic, fearing fire and the destruction of the city’s mostly wooden buildings, ordered glassmakers to move their foundries to Murano in 1291. Murano glass is still associated with Venetian glass. The process of making Murano glass is rather complex. The glass is made from silica, which becomes liquid at high temperatures. As the glass passes from a liquid to a solid state, there is an interval when the glass is soft before it hardens completely. This is when the glass-master can shape the material. Making a glass horse: the full version (12 minutes) can be seen here: --------------------------------- Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about 1.5 km ( mi) across. It was once an independent comune, but is now a frazione of the comune of Venice. The Church of San Pietro Marti