Glassmaking began in the city of Venice as early as the 5th century AD, when a Benedict Monk named Dominic wrote of glass phials (shallow vessels) being produced. The small group of islands known as Murano, just off the coast of Venice, was primarily used as a commercial port from as early as the 7th century.

In 1291, purportedly fearing fires caused by the glass furnaces, the Republic of Venice banned them from the city. Thus, the glassmaking foundries were relocated to the Island of Murano, where the artisans, though given special social and legal privileges, became virtually prisoners.

In 1295 an edict was declared, essentially dictating that glassmakers could not leave Murano on threat of bodily harm, since the Venetian government desired to keep the trade secrets of this vital industry from spreading to other glassmakers in Europe. This enabled the craft and glassmaking knowledge to be passed down from one generation to the next in Murano for centuries.

Murano glass canes. These glass canes are made of 70% silica or sand. The rest of them are made of soda and lime, and some additives for lowering the melting point, extending its molten state,modifying its color, or perhaps prevent the glass from bubbling.The class canes are cut using a tagianti, the glass maker’s cutting tool for both glass and the copper rod used for holding the glass. The cut portions of cane are then melted using open flame lamps or blowtorches.

When glass becomes fluid, at a temperature of about 800 F°, the glass worker uses copper rods, now commonly copper mandrels, to scoop a small portion of the molten cane. At this temperature, there are times when embers of glass pop which can result in burns. Protective gear such as rubber gloves and glass shields are used to make the work safer. When a drop of glass is already stuck on the copper rod, it is still heated in the lamp and shaped using one of many shaping tools.

Once the shape is final, other decorations such as gold strips, silver strips, etc may be wrapped around or inside the glass. The glass is hot worked once more, then allowed to cool in a bed of silica called vermiculite. Once the bead is finished, the extension of the mandrel is simply chopped off, and using nitric acid solution, the embedded portion is dissolved.