You are bidding on A pendant from Murano Italy, here is a bit of history about the famous glass and pictures of some of the shops where it is made

being Italian I am proud of my heritage

Murano island

Murano Island - A Glassmaker's Paradise Since 1291, this tiny Venetian island has been the home of Venice's glassmaking industry. Glass production was moved to Murano Island from the main part of Venice because its production posed quite a fire hazard. (Note: The buildings in Venice were constructed mostly of wood at this period in history and the extreme heat that is required to make glass liquid so as to mold and shape it obviously caused the Venetians some concern.)

Soon enough, Murano Island became quite a hot spot for glass production indeed. Glassmaking has quite an exalted tradition in Venice. It is an art form, after all. In the 14th century, the daughters of Murano's biggest glassmaking families were allowed to marry into the Venetian nobility. This is quite a high honor indeed. Artisans were also allowed to carry swords and enjoyed immunity from prosecution which was indeed a significant rarity in the Venetian city state of the High Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance. During later centuries, Venetians would begin to build vacation homes on Murano Island because the fire from the kilns which was used to make glass was deemed to provide healthy benefits.

_{Murano Palazzo Mula}

_{Note the artisans use of pure silver and gold leaf in each peice. A signature of Murano glass}