Description of the attraction
The Murano Glass Museum is one of the most interesting museums in Venice, dedicated to the history of the emergence and development of glass-blowing art, where you can see amazingly beautiful products made of this fragile material. The museum is located on the island of Murano in the Palazzo Giustinian building, which in the past served as the seat of the bishops of Torcello. Initially, the Palazzo was built in the Gothic style as an aristocratic residence, and in 1659 Bishop Marco Giustinian settled in it, who later bought the palace and transferred it to the diocese of Torcello. Apparently, for this good deed, the Palazzo began to be called by his name. When the diocese of Torcello was abolished in 1805, the palace became the property of the Venetian Patriarchate, which in turn handed it over to the municipality of Murano in 1848. In the middle of the 18th century, the Palazzo housed the City Hall of Murano, and in 1861 the Museum of Glass was opened there. Initially, the museum's collections occupied only one room on the ground floor, but the number of exhibits grew exponentially and the museum needed more and more space. So, gradually, the Glass Museum took over the entire building of Palazzo Giustinian. After the autonomy of the municipality of Murano was abolished in 1923, and the island itself became part of Venice, the museum became part of the association of the Civic Museums of Venice. Today, its collection contains fine examples of glass production, including renaissance decorations and a unique collection of archaeological antiquities from the necropolises of Enon.
Today, the vaults of the huge central hall of Palazzo Giustinian on the first floor, facing the Grand Canal, recall the former splendor of the palace - they are decorated with frescoes by Francesco Zugno with an allegorical image of the triumph of St. Lorenzo, the first patriarch of Venice. On the frieze you can see the family coats of arms of the noble families of Murano. The huge central chandelier made in the 19th century for the Murano Glass Exposition and awarded a gold medal deserves special attention.
