Murano - an archipelago in the Venetian lagoon, the islands are connected to each other by bridges. He is 1, 5 km north of Venice and is in its administrative authority. According to the last census, there resides about 5 thousand people.

The first inhabitants of these places were the Romans. Then, in the 6th century, to be replaced by peoples from Altinuma and Oderzo. In those years, the Murano was a thriving fishing port, salt mined here, but since the 11th century, the local population began to move into the area of ​​modern Dorsoduro, and the island began to decline. But at the same time, the Order of the Camaldolese hermits occupied one of the islands of the archipelago and it is based on the monastery of San Michele di Murano, who later became the center of education and publishing. The famous cartographer Fra Mauro, cards that use the greatest European explorers and travelers, was a novice of the monastery. In 1810, the year of San Michele di Murano was abolished and the monks were expelled. Today the former monastery lands occupied by main cemetery of Venice.

In 1291, the year there was a turning point in the history of Murano - all the glassmakers in Venice were moved to the island. This separation was motivated by a desire to protect the secret of Venetian glass production from the competition. In addition, the fiery furnace workshops could cause fires, so they had to be isolated geographically. Interestingly, the glassmakers were incredible privileges, such as their daughters could marry the Venetian aristocrats, but the masters themselves were strictly forbidden to leave the Murano. In the 14th century, glass, produced on Murano, began to export to export, and for some time the island has become a major glass factory in Europe.

In 1861 the building was opened Palazzo Giustinian Glass Museum, which introduces visitors to the history and development of this craft. There you can buy souvenirs of great beauty, as Murano glass has long been one of the symbols of Venice. The island has several large factories, the most famous of which is considered Formia. Among the other attractions of Murano is called the Cathedral of Santa Maria e Donato, known for its Byzantine frescoes of the 12th century church of San Pietro Martire and the Palazzo da Mula.