Marisa Convento

Tucked away in a corner of Bottega Cini, along the promenade connecting the Accademia to Punta della Dogana, lies the vibrant world of Marisa Convento. A self-proclaimed modern impiraressa (bead stringer), she continues a tradition once central to Venetian women’s craftsmanship and creativity by crafting exquisite jewelry using rare Murano glass beads. Historically, impiraresse used long needles and fine threads to string tiny glass beads, known as conterie, produced for centuries on Murano. Seated in groups along the calli, they worked with sessole (concave wooden boxs for sorting beads), skillfully threading conterie for various ornamental purposes or into spools for export. These beads, shipped globally, were sometimes used as currency, providing a lifeline to Venice’s glass industry during economic downturns.

Marisa’s journey began in the 1990s when she acquired a stock of conterie from a closing factory. After learning from an elderly bead-threader, she turned her passion into a profession at the age of 45, quickly becoming one of Venice’s most celebrated jewelry designers and working to keep the bead-stringing tradition alive. Today, she creates stunning necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and glass corals using traditional Venetian techniques and selected, rare beads—some dating back to the late 1800s. Her designs include millefiori, aventurine, gold- and silver-leaf beads, and her favorite, tuttifrutti—a vibrant mix of colors and patterns showcased in her Venetian Dreams project. Marisa describes each bead as a “photograph of the soul,” reflecting the artistry of both the perlera who creates the bead and the impiraressa who strings it.

A passionate advocate for Venetian craftsmanship, Marisa serves as vice president of the Committee for the Safeguarding of Venetian Glass Beads. In this role, she played a key part in securing UNESCO recognition for glass bead-making in 2020.