Murano Glass Glossary

The origin of some of these terms describing the glass techniques are uncertain, due to the many cultural influences on the island’s language over time. Below are the most common Murano glass terms that have been used over the centuries. 
 

Avventurina

My personal favorite!
Clear glass with metal flecks, often copper, but also found in blue and green, that create a shimmery, metallic look. The process is curiously named “adventure” describing either the difficulty of working with this process, or some say because it was discovered by mistake and so, became an adventure. 

Battuto 
Meaning “Beaten”. Similar to inciso, but with deeper and broader cuts,  looking like stylized fish scales.

Corroso 
Meaning “Corrosive”. A surface treatment in which the glass is etched by dunking the finished object into Hydroflouric acid.  Sawdust or paraffin are used to protect areas of the work the artist does not want affected by the acid.

Cristallo
A clear, highly malleable, colorless glass that can be blown into vessels with amazingly thin walls.

Filigrana 
A technique from the 1500s used to make items with an opaque white or colored glass core. Glass rods are placed in a furnace lengthwise and fused together. After being fused, they are blown and shaped.  This technique has 3 additional patterns, depending on how the filaments are twisted and aligned. 
- Mezza-filigrana, rods with one filament are used.
- Reticello is a diamond shaped pattern created by twisting two halves of an object in opposite directions while heating, distorting the straight lines of the filigrana rods, and creating a diamond mesh pattern. 
- Retortoli consists of 2 filaments twisted into a spiral.

A Ghiaccio
Meaning “Iced”. Hot glass is submerged in cold water creating a finely crackled surface.

Incamiciato 
A multilayered glass technique. Colored or pasta vitrea glass is encased in a final cristallo or transparent colored layer. First developed in the 1920s.

Inciso 
Meaning“Incision” A thin line scored into the glass by a grinding wheel.

Incalmo 
Fusing together many different colored glass pieces while pliable, and then forming them into a single object.

Iridato 
Glass which achieves a thin iridescent coating due to the exposure to the gaseous vapors of a metal, usually tin or titanium. Other metals which form an oxide on the surface of the hot glass can also be used.

Lattimo 
Opaque white or colored glass.

Massiccio 
A technique in which large or heavy objects are created without blowing because the molten glass is too heavy and dense. The glass is shaped, molded or formed while hot.

Millefiori 
Meaning“A thousand flowers” Lattimo glass decorated with murrine and often encased in a layer of clear or tinted glass. One of the oldest techniques that is still very popular today.

Murrine A glass technique first developed by the Romans and rediscovered in late 1800s. Thin sections of glass rods are fused together and then blown, formed or molded into a desired shape. The rods are often designed to create a floral or geometric design. 

Pasta Vitrea 
A very difficult technique to master, in which a colored, opaque glass is made by adding clear or colored crystals to molten glass.

Pennellate 
A design created by fusing colored pieces of glass to the surface of a hot item being blown.

Pulegoso 
Clear glass containing innumerable bubbles (puleghe). The bubbles are created by adding kerosene to the hot glass, creating bubbles upon combustion.

 

Soffiato
Mouth blown glass with classic lines and delicate colors.

Sommerso 
A technique used to create thick layered objects by repeatedly dipping a piece into various crucibles of molten glass to form a multi- layered or multi-hued effect.

Tessere 
Glass created by fusing together various pieces of glass of almost random shapes and sizes and then blown or worked.

Tessuto 
A multicolored, often striped glass made by fusing colored rods placed together in an alternating pattern and blown.

Trasparente colorato 
A clear glass similar to cristallo but with an added tint or color.

Velato 
Treating the surface of the glass with a grinding wheel, giving it a satin finish.