The second leg of my European trip was a week in Venice. The Floating City is just gorgeous, and I stayed in a small apartment in a quiet residential section - arranged by Nicole Anderson, whom some of you know.

The highlight of my Venetian adventure was the day I spent with Nicole, who arranged for a visit to a glassworks, where I watched the fabrication of glass vases. Next we visited the Ercole Moretti factory (founded 1911), where we were shown around by Gianni Moretti, nephew of Ercole. Mr. Moretti showed us the storerooms, filled with bins of stock that looked to date back 50 years or more, the production floor, where we watched millefiori beads and mosaic cane articles being made, and the museum room with a collection of beads and sample cards depicting the history of the company. I was able to buy one of the last copies of the book about the history of the company, written by Gianni Moretti, and even got it signed by him! Note - if you have not gotten a copy, stay tuned for the revised edition which should be published fairly soon.

I was also able to buy a small dish from the current production - here are pictures showing how it looks in normal light, and in transmitted light, which shows the cobalt glass used for the canes, as well as the special "M" murrine that is included on all their products. The dish is 79 mm diameter.