2024-10-09
30 分钟We visit Northern Italy, stopping first in Murano to learn about the island’s glass production today, then across to Lombardy to reflect on the outstanding works on show at the Lake Como Design Festival. Plus, what are the challenges of designing bespoke interiors fit for the sky? We meet the founder of a luxury brand, Unique Aircraft. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This is Monocle on Design, a show where we discuss everything from architecture and craft to furniture and fashion.
I'm Nick Moniz.
On today's program, we visit Murano to learn about glass production on the island today.
And we visit northern Italy to reflect on the outstanding works on show at the Lake Coma Design Festival.
Plus, what are the challenges of designing bespoke interiors fit for the sky?
We meet the founder of luxury brand Unique Aircraft.
All that coming up on Monocle On Design.
The production of glass has been associated with the Venice lagoon for nearly a millennium.
Companies that make glass line the main canal on the island of Murano, where furnaces roar deep at the back of workshops.
Barovia and Tozo is one such company famed for making chandeliers exported worldwide.
We join Monaco's David Pleasant as he boards a water taxi for a tour from Barovia and Toso's Daniela Sirocco.
They've always been on the island and the main reason which they were transferred from Venice to Murano was the danger of fires.
But the second reason, which was very important as well, was that the government wanted to keep the secrets of the production of the glass, since it was a kind of alchemy, transforming the sand, which is a very poor and raw material, into this kind of jewels.
This transformation was feel like really a kind of magical process.
They wanted to keep these secrets hidden from the rest of the world.
So the best way was to keep all the people on the island and seclude them there.
In that period, especially in the medieval time, there was possibility only for the masters to leave the island without a special permit.
As our guide Daniela says, there has always been a veil of secrecy around glass making here in Murano, exactly like the material that is glass itself.
This ancient craft tradition, having survived hundreds of years, is strong and incredibly versatile, and yet it remains very fragile.
And that perhaps explains all the trade secrets.