The Glassblower of Murano
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Blown glass fascinates me because, like most great crafts, it's incredibly difficult to achieve a good result. I used the word miraculous in the book and I think it's deserved. I love the way glass is such a shifting entity. In many ways it has as many faces as Venice itself, and I think that nature of changeability, of having many faces, is what I wanted to reveal about the city. Glass begins life as a powder which becomes liquid, then solid; there's only a very short window to work with glass before it hardens, and it takes a true artist to do it. Incredible, too, that such beauty comes from humble sand-true artistry from a quintessence of dust.
Venice is so unchanging; it's essentially the same place architecturally as it was in the seventeenth century. There are few places in the world about which one can say this, because most cities have changed to accommodate roads and sprawling suburbs. But because Venice as a "character" was the same then as now, I thought it would be really interesting to take a look at ideas of heritage and continuity of a particular Venetian family, with a peculiar creative genius. I was interested in whether or not a skill like glassblowing is passed down in the same way that, say, facial characteristics are. Is glassblowing in the Venetian DNA? Are these skills built into the Venetian genome, and how much does the city itself create artists by a kind of osmosis which has nothing to do with the century they are in? These are the kinds of questions which interested me.
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Marina's wedding kiss
The History of Murano
An Original Essay by the Author
"Murano is the glass heart of Venice."
When writing the historical strand of The Glassblower of Murano it was important to me to get some sense of the significance of glass in Venice at the end of the seventeenth century. And when you visit, the evidence is before your eyes; the city seems to be almost made of glass. As well as boasting the most beautiful windows in the world, exquisite chandeliers hang from the frescoed ceilings of every palazzo, the basilica is clothed in jewellike mosaics comprised of nuggets of glass covered in lapis and gold; and at the other end of the scale the streets in the Merceria dell'Orologio behind San Marco are crowded with bijoux little shops crammed with glass fancies, beads, and bonbons.
But it is Murano, one of the trio of islands set far into the Venetian lagoon, which is and was the glass heart of Venice. In 1291, an edict of the Great Council, Venice's ruling body, decreed that all glass furnaces should be moved to the island after a series of serious fires which threatened the city. In the Renaissance period, glass was a priceless monopoly for the Republic of Venice, and at the heart of their mystery was the closely guarded secret of how to make mirrors. The manufacture of mirrors of reasonable size and reflectivity was deeply problematic until the glassblowers of Murano stumbled across the optimum method through an accident of glassblowing. Thereafter they began to make mirrors brighter, clearer, and larger than any in the world. Venetian mirrors quickly became the Republic's most valuable commodity, more precious than saffron; more costly than gold.
The Council of Ten, the vicious ruling junta of Venice's Great Council, quickly realized the value of the glassblowers of Murano, and threatened them with death if they ever divulged their methods. Often, the glassblowers' entire families were kept as hostages by the state. Venetian law was very clear on the matter:
If any worker or artist should transport his talents to another country, and if he does not obey the order to return, all of his closest relatives will be put in prison.
Incredibly, despite such threats, some of the glassblowers of Murano did betray their secrets and their city. In the 1680s, Louis XIV, the Sun King, was in the throes of his Grand Design: the Palace of Versailles, for which he planned to construct a great chamber made entirely out of mirrors, and needed assistance from the best of the best. Thus, many of Murano's glassblowers were secretly transported to Paris. Recruited by Pierre de Bonzi, the French Ambassador to Venice, they were tempted by tales of foreign lands, exotic women, and great riches. By the autumn of 1665, twenty Murano fugitives had been spirited away to Paris where they began work upon the task of making the dream of a king a reality.
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Fiorato beads. Image courtesy of Ann Mitchell and Karen Mitchell of AnKara Designs, www.ankaradesigns.com.
""It's great to be, in some small way, part of such a wonderful tradition."
As we now know, the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles was built and remains for all to see-a cathedral of glass that is undeniably one of the modern wonders of the architectural world. Not only does the work mitigate the treachery of those brave souls from Murano, it is also a tribute to the craftsmen of France, who would someday become the forerunners for the genius of Baccarat and Lalique.
On a more personal note, I made a discovery of my own while researching the history of glassmaking in Murano: I was delighted to discover that Fiorato, my Venetian family name (which means "floral"), is also the name for a type of Murano glass. Fiorato glass features tiny glass flowers enameled and fused into beads. Fiorato beads are tiny, but they are beautiful. It felt great to be, in some small way, part of such a wonderful tradition.
A portion of the essay originally appeared in Italian magazine (© 2008). Reprinted with permission from the author.
Recommended Reading
The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas
A wonderful epic tale of a man who comes back from the "dead:' A direct influence on my historical plotline.
The Comfort of Strangers
by Ian McEwan
An extremely dark take of Venice, in contrast to the way in which the city is usually portrayed in literature. McEwan creates a wonderful sense of unease throughout. Here, the city is dangerous; it can kill, and it does.
Brideshead Revisited
by Evelyn Waugh
One of my favorite novels. Tucked in the central section is one of the most golden, languid portraits of Venice ever written. Entirely seductive, the city here is the polar opposite of the one in The Comfort of Strangers.
Hannibal
by Thomas Harris
Another one of my favorites. Not a Venetian setting but half of the novel is set in Florence and it's a wonderful portrait of a city which has never left the beautiful, brutal Renaissance. Everything is here; the art, the corruption of those in power, and, of course, the bloodletting.
Through a Glass, Darkly
by Donna Leon
Donna Leon knows Venice so well that every detail places you in the city. I'm a big fan of her Guido Brunetti detective novels, but this is my favorite; a great tale of murder set in the glass factories of Murano.
Death in Venice
by Thomas Mann
Another wonderful portrait of Venice, this time seen from the Lido (where I used to live). In this novella the city is sick; death stalks Venice in the shape of a mysterious disease, in a marked contrast to the youthful perfection of the Adonis of the Hotel des Bains.
The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare
Not a novel, I know, but a wonderful play and a direct influence on my book. The Merchant of Venice, as the name suggests, is proof positive that trade was the lifeblood of the city in Shakespeare's day. Interesting too, that every section of society engaged in trade, even the nobility; in other Renaissance kingdoms, nobles thought trade was a dirty word.
Reading Group Questions
1. Glass and Venice are both metaphors for change in the novel. How do they mirror the changing reflections of the characters? In particular, discuss this facet of the novel in relation to the roles of Leonora and Corradino.
2. Marina Fiorato uses imagery of glass: its beauty yet changeability; its strength yet fragility, throughout her novel. How does this portray an unfamiliar, dark, and sinister side to the most romantic European city?
3. Do you think Corradino Manin did the right thing by his "betrayal"?
4. Discuss the narrative structure of The Glassblower of Murano. In what ways do t
he two intertwined strands of the novel, the story set in the Renaissance and Leonora's modern-day narrative, shape the story?
5. Marina Fiorato says in her acknowledgments that having a child is like letting your heart walk around outside your body. Discuss the various relationships between parent and child in the story. How do they vary, and in what ways are they similar? What do you think is signified by Leonora's gift of the glass heart pendant to her child?
6. How important was it for Leonora to leave everything behind and move to Venice, and what do her discoveries teach her about family?
7. Think about the male-dominated fornace on Murano. Leonora has an uncertain relationship with the maestros in the factory because she is a woman in what remains a man's world. How do you think this relationship affects her view of her own femininity?
8. Is it acceptable-because of the importance of glassblowing to Venetian heritage-for Leonora to be treated as an outsider by the maestros?
9. The story of The Glassblower of Murano is centered around Corradino's secret and Leonora's search for the truth. Discuss the various elements of mystery in these pages. What types of narrative devices does Marina Fiorato use to keep the reader guessing?
10. Few places are as romanticized, celebrated, and praised as Venice. Have you traveled to Venice? If so, do you agree with the portrayal of Venice in the story? If not, how did reading this book confirm or deny your preconceived notions of one of the world's most famous places?
Table of Contents
The Book
The Lion and the Book
The Island of the Dead (part 1)
The Island of the Dead (part 2)
The Notebook
The Letter (part 1)
The Letter (part 2)