Murano Glass Glossary
Murano glass has its own language of colour, pattern and technique. This guide explains the traditional Italian terms you may encounter while exploring handcrafted Murano glass jewellery and decorative glass from Venice.
Because every piece is worked by hand, the same technique can produce subtly different results. Those small variations are part of the character of authentic artisan glass.
Avventurina
Transparent glass filled with tiny copper crystals that create a warm, sparkling metallic effect. It is also commonly written as aventurina.
Calcedonio
A richly veined glass with flowing, stone-like colours. Metallic compounds create its distinctive bands and unpredictable tonal changes.
Canna
The Italian word for a glass cane or rod. Coloured canes are drawn from hot glass and later used as building blocks for decorative patterns.
Corroso
A surface treatment that gives glass a softly weathered, matt or textured finish by carefully etching the outer layer.
Fenicio
A feathered decoration made by wrapping contrasting glass threads around a hot piece and combing them into a repeating wave or festoon pattern.
Filigrana
A traditional technique using clear glass canes with coloured or opaque cores. When gathered and twisted, the canes form fine lines, spirals or lace-like patterns.
Incamiciato
Literally “sleeved” or “encased”: one layer of glass is covered by another to build depth, opacity and colour. Gold or silver leaf may also be enclosed between layers.
Incalmo
A demanding hot-working technique in which separately made sections of glass are joined edge to edge, often creating clean bands of contrasting colour.
Lattimo
Opaque milk-white glass developed in Venice as an alternative to porcelain. It is often combined with coloured glass, filigree or gold leaf.
Massello
Solid, rather than blown, glass shaped while hot. The technique is used for sculptural forms and substantial decorative details.
Mosaico
Mosaic glass made by fusing coloured canes or glass pieces into a planned pattern, then using the fused section within a larger object.
Murrina
A patterned cross-section cut from a bundled glass cane. Each slice reveals a motif—often a flower, star or geometric design—which can be fused into beads, pendants and vessels. The plural is murrine.
Pasta vitrea
An opaque coloured glass paste. Its dense, saturated appearance comes from fine crystals or colouring compounds dispersed through the glass.
Pezzato
A patchwork effect made from small pieces of differently coloured glass, fused together and shaped into a unified surface.
Pulegoso
Glass containing many tiny bubbles, creating a soft, foamy or almost opaque texture that catches and diffuses light.
Reticello
A refined form of filigree in which crossing spirals create a diamond-shaped net. A tiny trapped air bubble often appears at each intersection.
Sabbiatura
Sandblasting: a controlled abrasive treatment that produces a frosted or matt surface. Masking selected areas can create patterns and contrasts.
Scavo
A surface finish designed to resemble ancient excavated glass. Powders applied during firing create an irregular, softly weathered appearance.
Siderale
A rare mid-20th-century technique using large, concentric-ring murrine. The fused design is ground and polished to reveal bold celestial patterns.
Smalti
Vitreous enamels made from finely ground, coloured glass. They are painted onto the surface and fired so the decoration bonds permanently with the piece.
Sommerso
Meaning “submerged,” this technique encases one or more coloured layers inside clear glass. It creates luminous depth with crisp boundaries between colours.
Tessuto
Literally “woven”: very fine coloured canes are arranged and fused to produce a tightly striped, textile-like surface.
Zanfirico
A decorative filigree cane made by twisting multiple coloured threads into complex spirals, ribbons or lattice patterns.
Choosing a Murano glass piece
Technique is only part of the story. Colour, scale, setting and the individual hand of the maker give each piece its personality. Explore our Murano glass jewellery, or contact us if you would like help choosing a gift or a piece for yourself.