When Francesca embarked upon her glorious Grand Tour of Europe in the 1600s, she took an unforgettable detour to Murano. An archipelago of islands north of Venice, Murano has been famous for its skilled glassmaking artisans since 1291. Upon meeting friends in Murano in the form of forcelanti, glass cutters, Francesca remarked that the Venetian glass was the most brilliant she had ever seen- the colors so vibrant and the glass so pure she felt as though she were seeing color for the first time.
Murano’s reputation as a center for glassmaking began in 1291, when the Venetian Republic ordered its glassmakers to move to the island, as glassmaking posed a threat to the wooden buildings of Venice. The Forcelanti (glass cutters) thrived in Murano, and within the following century they held a monopoly on quality glassmaking.
To create the two unique types of Murano that Casa di Francesca offers, Murrine and traditional, extremely detailed and extensive processes are employed by the artisans of Murano. To create Murrine, rods are arranged in bouquets that form lovely patterns by Italian artisans. The rods are heated in a furnace so that the rods fuse together, creating elaborate designs. The rod is then reheated and gently pulled apart so that it becomes very thin and delicate but preserves its unique design. Once the glass cools it is cut into small discs by the Italian artisans, who then cut the discs again and place them into molds of varying shapes and sizes. The pieces are then reheated again to fuse the tiny discs together and finally the rough product is polished, revealing the beautiful mosaic. To create traditional Murano, artisans align a series of glass rods side by side and then bunch them together on the “moncaura”, a transparent glass base prepared beforehand. Thus a cylinder of glass threads is obtained consisting of alternate transparent and opaque threads which are then treated like normal blown glass, to create the beautiful Murano of Casa di Francesca.
The Forcelanti perfected many technologies over the centuries, including crystalline glass, enameled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicolored glass (millefiori, or thousand flowers), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass.
Today, some very exclusive designs, shapes, and colors belong only to a few forcelanti Masters who still protect the ancient secrets. Casa di Francesca will also offer unique boxwood topiaries adorned with organza ribbon. These classic topiaries are made from real boxwood, specially preserved to maintain their lush green color and natural texture.
