Everything About Venice and Murano Glass

Mother’s Day Sale on All Murano Glass from GlassOfVenice – 15% OFF

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:26:32 +0000

May is the time when we treat the most important women in our lives – our mothers, and the mothers around us, which we value and respect. Giving us unconditional love, encouragement, and self confidence, our moms dedicate their lives to us, and for that we are forever thankful. You may think that Mother’s Day is a special U.S. holiday, but in fact it’s celebrated all over the world, although it has different roots and is celebrated on different days in different countries.

In Italy Mother’s Day is called La Festa Della Mamma and, like so many Italian customs, it traces its origins to the ancient Romans, who had a spring feast in honor of the goddess of marriage and motherhood named Juno (which meant “vital force” in Latin), and prayed to her for fertility and healthy offspring. The ancient Romans had a custom of marrying in June, Juno’s month, to ensure a good fruitful marriage, and that custom is still alive and well today among modern Italians. In every culture mothers are respected and loved, but in Italy a mother is a vital force not just in the family but in the community, and even more than that, mothers play a very important role in the larger society. Surprisingly, eight out of ten Italian men ages 18 to 30 still live with their mamma’s (such men are affectionately called “mammoni” or mamma’s boys -a term extremely common in today’s Italy), and countless others always consult with their mamma’s when there is a need to make an important decision. While La Festa Della Mamma in its present form was first officially celebrated in 1957 on the second Sunday in May, it has quickly become one of the most loved and widely celebrated Italian holidays.

On this day Italian sons and daughters free their mamma’s of any household chores. Those adult children that live outside the home try to come home and spend the day with their mothers and families. Of course Italians are famous for their love of good food and wine, so they often celebrate La Festa Della Mamma with a big family feast and for desert there is always a cake in the shape of a heart. And of course all children from the very young to the very old give their mothers gifts and keepsakes to be treasured for years.

Whether you are an Italian or not, Mother’s Day is a great time to let your mother and those special mothers around you know just how special they are with the most special and unique gifts you can find. We at GlassOfVenice have wonderful Murano Glass gifts for moms of all ages, carefully handcrafted one-at-a-time in the furnaces of Venetian artisans. A Murano Glass gift straight from Venice, which carries all the passion, magic and beauty of this amazing City on the Water will make every mom feel loved and appreciated.

MURANO GLASS GIFTS FOR MOTHER’S DAY
Gift for moms of exquisite Murano Glass from our large selection of unique entirely handcrafted Murano Glass jewelry, vases, sculptures, accessories, tableware and barware, which lets your mothers and the important women in your life enjoy the aura of Venice for years to come. Use coupon code MOTHERS15 during checkout and get 15% OFF your Murano Glass Mother’s Day gifts until May 14, 2012!
We just expanded the assortment of our beautiful Murano Glass Mother’s Day Gifts and Venetian Gifts to help you bring the Art of Murano Glass and Venetian beauty to your mothers and your favorite women this Mother’s Day and always. These pieces are created by famous Murano Glass masters who love what they do and who spent decades learning from their fathers and grandfathers and perfecting their glass-making skills.

Enjoy giving gifts of Love from Venice! Keep checking our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter for updates on specials and promotions.

How can I find a spare part for my Murano Glass item?

GlassOfVenice — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:55:44 +0000

Continuing with our series of Murano Glass Q&A we’d like to cover a question we get often, which is whether we can help get a spare part for Murano Glass item. Most often this question concerns Murano glass watches and Venetian chandeliers.

Let us start by saying that generally Murano Glass masters do not create spare parts. In the case of Murano Glass chandeliers, it may be possible to obtain a spare part only from the glass factory where you purchased your chandelier. For this reason as well as for quality and service assurance, if you do go to Venice and Murano and decide to purchase a chandelier there, we highly recommend purchasing only from a reputable factory on Murano. Please remember to make a note of the factory’s name, the owners/salesperson’s names and contact information, and keep this info along with your proof of purchase in a safe place in case a delivery fails, the chandelier arrives damaged or not as expected, or you need a spare part years down the road. Alternatively, you can purchase one of our Venetian chandeliers and we will work with the glass makers to provide the required spare part for you should you need it later on.

As for Murano Glass watches, the most sought-after parts are the millefiori-decorated crystal and the leather strap or the bangle. Unfortunately, it is not possible to replace the millefiori crystal, if yours broke the only option is to buy a new watch. Same goes for the bangle bracelet. The strap, however, can be replaced, and we’ll be happy to look into the strap replacement requests for our customers.

To get a quality piece of artistic Murano Glass, please see our wide selection of authentic Murano Glass at www.GlassOfVenice.com

Murano Glass Giveaway: Win a Millefiori Pendant! – CLOSED

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:46:06 +0000

Who doesn’t love a good deal? Especially in the middle of cold and dreary winter. Oh well, maybe not as cold as they have in Europe, where the Venetian canals are covered in ice, but still we thought our U.S. and Canada readers could use a chance to break the ice this winter with one of the hundreds of famous colorful Millefiori pendants available on our website. A Millefiori pendant is probably the most famous and easily recognizable piece of Murano Glass Art. Now you can get one absolutely free by taking part in our Giveaway, and, if you are the lucky winner, you will see for yourself how people get instantly attracted to it. And the best part is you get to select your free pendant from the many 23mm Millefiori pendants in gold-plated or silver frame that we offer on our website.

Rules for Millefiori Pendant Giveaway from GlassOfVenice.

Giveaway Details: This giveaway is open to US & Canadian Residents age 18 or over. You must complete the Mandatory Entry to be eligible. This giveaway will start on February 21st and close on March 5th, at 11:59pm EST Time. Please read our Rules before entering. Please leave a separate comment with your email for each entry that you complete.

Mandatory Entry – Earns 2 Entries – Visit our site GlassOfVenice and comment on this Blog Post which item you like the most!

Bonus Entries: (complete after fulfilling the Mandatory Entry)
All Entries will be verified!

Earns 2 Entries: Become GlassOfVenice Fan on Facebook
Earns 2 Entries: Follow @GlassOfVenice on Twitter
Earns 2 Entries: Subscribe to Glass of Venice Blog
Earns 5 Entries: Write up your own post about this giveaway along with live links to http://www.GlassOfVenice.com and post it on your blog (leave link)
Earns 1 Entry Daily: You can copy and paste the following Tweet over on Twitter once per day. (leave status link)

Copy & Paste Tweet:

#Win Millefiori Murano Glass Pendant from @glassofvenice Enter @glassofvenice Ends 3/3 http://bit.ly/zcFNlr US/Can #giveaways #handmade #jewelry

Venice on Ice – Enjoy at Your Own Risk

GlassOfVenice — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:12:04 +0000

Most people think of Venice as a sunny city that sees its fair share of natural cataclysms, mainly in the form of floods, which make it even more picturesque, if somewhat challenging to navigate. We bet you haven’t really thought of Venice as Winter Wonderland, with snow covering its cute bridges and ice floating in its canals. Yet this is exactly what Venice has become a week ago.

After weeks of frigid weather and record low temperatures, most of Europe (and even Algeria) lay covered in snow. Europe’s famous waterways and channels froze, turning entire cities into picturesque skating rinks and bringing the nostalgia of the much simpler life in centuries past. However, what brings good old-fashioned fun to cities like Amsterdam and Berlin becomes a logistical nightmare in Venice, which is not accessible by land-based transport. As Venetian Lagoon started freezing over and the canals were covered in ice, Venice struggled to keep its water-based traffic operating. Water taxis were not running for fear of ice damaging the motors, many private boats were docked for the same reason, and special ice-breaking boats were working overtime to clear up the canals for vaporetti, commercial and private boats.

In a sign of the seriousness of the situation, the famous regatta opening the Venetian Carnival was postponed a week due to the ice, the chill, and the winds reaching 30 mph. However, this is not the first winter when Venetians had to suffer from extreme cold and challenging ice, and they are dealing with it by dressing up in stylish warm outfits (read furs), flocking to the bars and restaurants, warming up with coffee, hot chocolate, and stronger liquids, and welcoming the Carnival amid the snow. Venetians certainly love a good show, and in Venice Show Must Go On!

And the Glass Making must go on too. Despite the tough weather, we would like to assure all our customers that none of our shipments from Murano have been delayed due to the hard work of the glass artisans braving the freezing temperatures and chilly winds to bring you the beautiful Murano Glass creations, and the efforts of UPS and FedEx braving the ice of the Venetian Lagoon. In these days of snow and ice the fire of Murano furnaces is burning brighter than ever, and you can enjoy the reflections of its glow with our Murano Glass Art right in the comfort of your own home.

Don’t let your heart freeze over! Stay warm and enjoy winter Venetian-style with GlassOfVenice

Become our Fan on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter @GlassOfVenice to stay up to date on our promotions and updates.

Valentine’s Sale on All Murano Glass from GlassOfVenice – 15% OFF

GlassOfVenice — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:16:47 +0000

Venice and Love are practically synonimous. When you step into Venice you immediately feel that love is omnipresent – it is in the air, in the water of Venetian Canals, on the little charming piazza’s, and on the bridges often occupied by kissing lovers. Many people wait to visit Venice until they find the love of their lives, because they feel that one cannot fully enjoy this town when not in love. And they are right, because visiting Venice together with your lover allows you to share the grand feeling of romance and enchantment that overwhelms you in this beautiful town. If you are in love, just picture the two of you in Venice: the sunset on Piazza San Marco, the embrace on top of the Campanile, the twilight kiss on the gondola, the evening in one of the canal-side restaurants, the experience never to be forgotten.

While there is nothing better than visiting Venice together with your loved one, we offer the next best thing – giving your loved one a gift straight from Venice, which carries all the magic and romance of Venice.

MURANO GLASS GIFTS OF LOVE

Valentine’s Day gift of exquisite Murano Glass from our large selection of unique entirely handcrafted Murano Glass jewelry, vases, sculptures, tableware and barware, which lets your loved ones enjoy the aura of Venice for years to come. Use coupon code VALSALE15 during checkout and get 15% OFF your Murano Glass Valentine’s Day gifts until February 15, 2012!
We just expanded the assortment of our beautiful Murano Glass Valentine’s Day Gifts and Venetian Gifts to help you bring authentic Venetian romance and enchantment to your loved ones this Valentine’s Day and always. These pieces are created by famous Murano Glass masters who love what they do and who spent decades learning from their fathers and granfathers and perfecting their glass-making skills.

Enjoy giving gifts of Love from Venice and keep checking our Blog, Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter for specials and promotions.

Celebrations of Love: Venice Carnival and Valentine’s Day

GlassOfVenice — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:23:04 +0000

As we all know, Venice is one of the few remaining cities that changed very little over the last few centuries. In the spirit of retaining it historic and cultural identity, Venetians keep many of their age-old traditions alive, the most important of which is annual Venetian Carnival. This year the Carnival will take place from February 11th to 21st. If you have never been in Venice during the Carnival, you should definitely make plans to go and experience the magic, enchantment, and breathtaking beauty of Venice as it was meant to be. February is a dull and dreary month in Europe, but not in Venice, thanks to the Carnival which brings out colors, celebrations, music and historic events onto the streets of Venice.

A tribute to Venetian extravagance and decadence, one of the most interesting introductions for the 2012 Carnival will be the Wine Fountain set up in St. Mark’s Square. Set up in front of the Doge’s Palace, this unusual fountain will cast out fine wines produced in Venice which will be offered to the public. Carnival will be opened on February 4th with the official toast made by this Fountain, and, after the opening toast, in a truly Venetian enchanting scene, everyone will be dancing waltz in the Piazzetta San Marco.

Another important part of the Carnival festivities is “The Angel Flight”, a traditional flight of a secret guest of the city of Venice, from the top of the bell tower of St. Mark’s down to the centre of the square. An internationally acclaimed star, whose name has not yet been revealed, will wear a gorgeous Carnival costume and the magical flight will pay homage to the events of the centuries past.

The Venetian Carnival will end on Tuesday, February 21st 2012, with the Rowing of Silence: a picturesque procession of ornate historical boats along the Grand Canal from Rialto to St. Mark’s Square with no artificial lighting. All the gorgeous palaces overlooking the largest Venetian Canal will be lit entirely by candles, and motor boat traffic will be prohibited, recreating the atmosphere of Venice in the middle ages and allowing us to see the magical and unreal Venice just the way it appeared to the travelers centuries ago.

Whether you manage to travel to Italy for the Carnival or choose to stay at home, we hope you don’t forget another important festival of Love that we celebrate here in the U.S. – The Valentine’s Day. And what better way to show your love than with a piece of authentic Murano Glass created right in the Capital of Romance, the timeless and beautiful city of Venice!

To help you celebrate and announce your love we announce Special Valentine’s Day Sale from GlassOfVenice.

We invite you to take advantage of our limited time Valentine’s Day Special and get 15% OFF everything on our website when you use coupon VALSALE15 during Checkout until February 15th, 2012. Plus, as always, get free shipping in the U.S. on all orders over $100 and discounted shipping on all other orders.

To get your own piece of artistic Murano Glass, please see our wide selection of authentic Murano Glass at www.GlassOfVenice.com

Become our Fan on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter @GlassOfVenice to stay up to date on our promotions and updates.

Sale on All Murano Art Glass from GlassOfVenice – 10% OFF

GlassOfVenice — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:38:51 +0000

Now that the holidays are over you can finally relax and give yourself a gift for surviving the craziness. Reward yourself with a piece of exquisite Murano Art Glass from our large selection of unique entirely handcrafted Murano Glass vases, sculptures, tableware and drinkware and enjoy the gorgeous colors and intricate play of light for years to come.

Use coupon code FBJANSALE during checkout and get 10% OFF every Murano Art Glass item in our virtual store until January 15, 2012!

MURANO ART GLASS
We just expanded the assortment of our beautiful Murano Art Glass Sculptures and Vases, which make great special occasion gifts for yourself or someone special in your life. These pieces are created by famous Murano Glass masters whose works are featured in museums and private collections worldwide, and many are signed by the Artist.

Enjoy shopping with us and keep checking our Blog, Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter for specials and promotions.

Christmas in Venice: Romance, Art, Tradition

GlassOfVenice — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:01:25 +0000

Christmas is an enchanted time, especially when it’s celebrated in the enchanted city of Venice. Winter Holidays bring special cheer and magic to Venice and we will give you a quick overview of Venetian celebrations and events this holiday season.

This year Venice set up its largest skating rink ever on Piazza San Polo surrounded by a traditional Christmas market. At the market you can buy Murano Glass, Venetian masks, and other local artisanal products, as well as try great local food and wine. When you get tired of skating and feel like getting a culture fix, you can visit a very interesting exhibition in Murano Glass Museum on the island of Murano, entitled “1861-2011: UN’ISOLA, UN’ARTE, UN MUSEO” (translated as “One Island, One Art, One Museum”). This retrospective exhibition dedicated to the long history of Murano glass-making offers insight into Murano Glass tradition and showcases almost two hundred of the most significant items in the Museum’s collection made in the last 150 years.

If you are in Venice over the Holidays, you will get a chance to enjoy some colorful centuries-old Christmas traditions honored here and in the rest of Italy. One of them is Messa di Mezzanotte, Christmas Mass that starts around midnight. After the Christmas dinner, families head out and walk brightly decorated streets to a candle-lit church, where choirs sing Christmas songs and create true Christmas spirit. Evoking spiritual traditions of the centuries past, festive and beautiful Messa di Mezzanotte is an event not to be missed.

After Christmas, all eyes turn to the New Years with its own share of colorful celebrations and interesting traditions. Make sure to eat lentils on December 31st to attract money and riches in the new year. Lentils symbolize coins, and, according to the Italian tradition, the more you eat, the more money you’ll get. On New Year’s eve, most Italians serve their lentils with either cotechino (pork sausage) or zampone (pig’s trotter stuffed with the same filling as cotechino). After this feast, head to Piazza San Marco, where New Year celebrations take place. The festivities focused on beauty and romance and entitled “The Love Celebration” will continue through the night and culminate with the spectacular fireworks over the Venetian Lagoon.

Whether you manage to travel to Italy this Holiday season or just enjoy reading about Venice and Italy, we hope you get a cue from Italians and remember to take a break to enjoy good food, festive atmosphere, art, and the company of friends.

Happy Holidays from all of us at GlassOfVenice and best wishes for happy and prosperous New Year!

Holiday Sale Reminder

Remember to take advantage of our limited time Holiday Special and get 15% OFF everything on our website when you use coupon DECSALE15 during Checkout until January 1st, 2012. Plus, as always, get free shipping in the U.S. on all orders over $100 and discounted shipping on all other orders.

To get your own piece of artistic Murano Glass, please see our wide selection of authentic Murano Glass at www.GlassOfVenice.com

Become our Fan on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter @GlassOfVenice to stay up to date on our promotions and updates.

New Murano Glass Products and Exciting News from GlassOfVenice

GlassOfVenice — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:04:17 +0000

With holidays upon us, we have a lot of exciting news at GlassOfVenice that we would like to share with you.

New Products and Great Murano Glass Gifts

We are happy to announce that we received many new products from Murano just in time for the Holidays. Our tableware and barware collection now includes exquisite Murano Glass Candle Holders, Decanter Sets, Carafes, and Goblets created by famous Murano masters whose works are featured in museums and private collections worldwide. New Sparkled Topaz Silverware collection expands our range of exclusive silverware and gives you even more options for gift giving and entertaining with class. By popular demand, we are now introducing gorgeous mouth-blown Christmas Ornaments with millefiori, which are also great gifts and unique keepsakes. Our famously huge jewelry collection also got even larger with new gorgeous pendants and necklaces. See all our new products at New Murano Glass jewelry and tableware

Stay Tuned

This is a busy time for us as we are not just fulfilling lots of orders but also introducing new product categories, new website features, and new savings. We have exciting things in store such as upcoming Holiday Gift Giveaway for our registered customers and other surprise events that will be announced soon. We will also run more specials and giveaways throughout the year, including exclusive Facebook and Twitter specials. Stay connected with us and don’t miss anything.

Read Our Blog

Become our Fan on Facebook

Holiday Sale Reminder

Remember to take advantage of our limited time Holiday Special and get 15% OFF everything on our website when you use coupon DECSALE15 during Checkout. Plus as always get free shipping in the U.S. on all orders over $100 and discounted shipping on all other orders.

We wish you safe and joyous Holidays,
Your Friends at GlassOfVenice.com

To get your own piece of artistic Murano Glass, please see our wide selection of authentic Murano Glass at www.GlassOfVenice.com

Get our Twitter updates via SMS by texting “follow GlassOfVenice” to 40404 in the United States.

Murano Glass Gifts from GlassOfVenice – 15% OFF

GlassOfVenice — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:21:48 +0000

It’s that time of the year again – time to start thinking about holiday shopping and gift giving for all of your friends and loved ones. Everyone wants something unique, something that expresses their individuality, which is increasingly rare in our age of mass-production and cheap alternatives to real art. That is exactly where GlassOfVenice can help – our large selection of unique entirely handcrafted Murano Glass jewelry, tableware, vases, sculptures, Christmas ornaments and various accessories are created in Venice using the centuries-old glassmaking techniques and make perfect one-of-a-kind artistic gifts for men and women of any age, while fitting your budget.

This Holiday season we are also introducing lots of new gorgeous Murano glass products to expand our famously huge assortment of the best authentic Murano glass even further! And it gets even better – use coupon code DECSALE15 during checkout and get 15% OFF every item in our virtual store until December 31, 2011!

MURANO TABLEWARE AND SILVERWARE

We are offering new unique
Murano Glass Candle Holders , gorgeous Murano Glass Goblets and Tumblers, and exquisite rare Murano Glass Decanter Sets.

MURANO GLASS CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS
To help you celebrate Christmas in style, we are now bringing you a variety of beautifulMurano Glass Christmas Ornaments with Millefiori created by famous Murano Glass artists. Pick one to hang on your Christmas Tree or give as a beautiful Venetian keepsake.

MURANO ART GLASS
We are also expanding the assortment of our beautiful Murano Art Glass Sculptures and Vases, which make great holiday and special occasion gifts for yourself or someone special in your life. These pieces are created by famous Murano Glass masters whose works are featured in museums and private collections worldwide, and many are signed by the Artist.

Enjoy shopping with us and keep checking our Blog, Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter for specials and promotions this Holiday Season.

Get our Twitter updates via SMS by texting “follow GlassOfVenice” to 40404 in the United States.