Best place to buy Murano or Venetian glass in Venice?
 

I will be in Venice in May and really want to buy some Murano glass. I also remember years ago, when I was in Venice, the painted Venetian glass. Has anyone purchased glass there within recent memory? Is there anyplace you would recommend? A store you think has good quality and value?

http://www.glasshandmade.it/

I've bought glass from here - and had pieces made to order. It's in the San Paolo district which is quiet and away from the tourist trap shops that sell mostly imports from Asia.

That should read 'San Polo' district

Question: Why not the "factory shops" on Murano? I don't know the answer, but years ago my late wife bought a handsome three-vase set of deep blue, deep green and deep red colors (three different sizes) at one of the factory "outlets".... No one has ever visited our home who didn't ooh and ahhh comment on these sitting in one of our wall niches. Another was a Gorman Taos scene from New Mexico. In another of the three niches, we kept a broken white bowl in shards, a rememberance of the 1994 earthquake in California. The house was totalled and we returned after it was rebuilt.

Carlo Moretti's L'Isola, showroom. Google for address. We have bought several beautiful pieces here.

There are several little shops called Domaghi where I have found nice pieces.

As tower said, on Murano in one of the artisan's workshops. You should find pieces of all price ranges at MUCH better prices than in Venice itself, and -- if you want -- get the chance to learn a bit about the techniques, too. :-)

The two premier glass merchants in Venice are Pauly and Venini.

Both have shops in Piazza San Marco.

Very expensive.

Thin

I've never had any luck with finding anything on Murano itself besides the glass animals that are probably made in China. OTOH just round the corner from where I was staying last month in San Marco, but not in the Piazza was the Moretti showroom:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/...a98fab!6m1!1e1

The water glasses I liked were €106 each; with the drop in the value of the euro perhaps i should have splashed out!

and whilst researching this for a friend, I came across these glass jewelery makers though I didn't go there myself:

http://www.marinaesusannasent.com/en/negozi

>>Question: Why not the "factory shops" on Murano?<<

This is just from personal experience, but we found that the factory shops don't offer any deals, and in fact are often more expensive than many of the shops in Venice for the same products. Sure, what you bought at a factory may be nice, but there is the question of value.

When you decide on a piece, bring two credit cards (or one card and cash) with you. When you've finished bargaining and settled on a price, suggest that you could split your payment onto 2 cards (or 1 card + cash) if that would lower the price.

Often, it will. The shopkeeper will create a receipt using the payment from 1 card -- that's what he'll deliver to his accountant for tax reporting -- and he'll pocket the payment from the other card. If you'll need to pay duty on what you've bought when you return, it's up to you whether to declare the full amount you paid of just use the receipt to hoodwink the customs guys. [Not that a judge would ever do anything on the DL.)

Vecchia Murano has a big showroom just off of St. Mark's Square. We have three of their chandeliers hanging in our house.

I bought my collection of Murano glass over a few years from Atmosfera Veneziana ( http://www.atmosferaveneziana.com/site/home_page.html ). And I continue to collect. The shop is close to San Marco; just off Campo San Luca.

Buying Venetian glass is always a matter of taste. There are plenty of retail shops in Venice selling high-quality works of art from the known masters.

Most people who ask questions like this aren't serious collectors. They just want to get something for less. Going to Murano and expecting to get a $250 goblet from a master artisan for $175 just isn't going to happen. Such folly is a waste of time and energy. The true artisans with workshops on Murano aren't interested in low-ball single-item deals with one-time tourists who are shopping on a limited budget.

Deals can be found if you're a true investor and willing to purchase a work of art. If you don't speak Italian, you'll need an Italian-speaking broker you can trust to get the best deal. The process has grown more intense these past few years, because American collectors are now competing with wealthy tourists from China and Russia.

IMO, fall in love with a piece first, and then deal with its price. Better yet, do some homework on Venetian glass artistry and learn the master's names before you go. That way, you can compare shop prices and better pretend to be smart shopper.

Thanks for the replies. Lots to think about. And, no, I'm not a serious collector or investor, but I do like to have nice objects and I do collect different champagne glasses as well, some quite expensive, some not. I just want some nice glass pieces that are not cheap, but not in the stratosphere either. Mostly it will depend on whether I like it and if I think it is worth the money asked for it. This isn't an exercise in showing off or putting my impeccable taste on display. It's a matter of buying something nice for my home, nothing more.

I can't help with a referral to a source Laurieco, but I just wanted to say that I bought a set of wine & water glasses from a factory in Murano in 1995

Had them made from a design I supplied, they were the most expensive homewares item I'd ever bought - and every time I use them ( often), they bring me joy. I had them shipped home and they billed my Amex monthly. I think I paid a 20% deposit & that's what was shown on the invoice, so I wasn't slugged a huge duty fee when they landed.

All of this to wish you well in finding the perfect piece that will make you smile 20+ years later, too. Don't be afraid to ask to have something made - it may not be as expensive as you think.

Consider checking around on prices before you go. I ended up buying a lovely set of shot glasses and hand-carrying them back (Salvati, I think, was the name?) and it turns out they were available at my local upscale grocery store for slightly less, plus a nuisance to carry! But I still enjoy them!

Could I please request that people visiting Italy not participate in tax cheating schemes? Italian tax cheaters harm other honest operators in Italy, they overall raise the taxes on every other person in Italy who does pay taxes, and furthermore, they ultimately end up costing tourists higher prices for the other things they must pay for.

If the government is unable to collect taxes from luxury shops -- and it is a big problem, because they are often the biggest tax cheaters -- they must raise the tax rates on hotel rooms or services like the vaporetti to make up for the lost revenue.

Just in general it is a distasteful way to behave. If you really can't afford the true cost of an item or the true cost of enjoying Italy without cheating, there are many other lovely travel destinations where costs are in line with your income level.

Any legal and authentic item you purchase in Italy that costs at least 155€ is eligible for a Tax Refund. I have never purchased a work of art in Italy, glass or otherwise, without being offered the Tax Refund Form from the artist or merchant. For every purchase I have made through the years, and the number is high, I have always received my refund.

If someone is going to (laughingly) lecture tourists on "tax cheaters," and completely ignore the systemic corruption that is ingrained in the Italian social, financial, and political culture, then all you can do is scratch your head and roll your eyes.

I'm all for fairness. And as a tourist, I'd like to be able to shop with the same rules and constraints as local shoppers. Local shoppers surely understand the way things are done in Italy, and that very much includes shenanigans with receipts. Why on earth should I not be entitled to get the same breaks as a local? If sandralist really wants to fix the problem then s/he should deal with the source of the issue, not its symptom.