Vittorio Costantini
- LABORATORY: I Vetri d'arte di Vittorio Costantini
- PRODUCTS: Glass animals
- MATERIALS: Glass
- NEIGHBORHOOD: Cannaregio
- AVAILABILITY: Open to the public
- OPENING HOURS: 9.30am–1pm / 2.15pm –5.30pm (Mon–Fri)
- ADDRESS: Calle del Fumo, 5311
Calle del Fumo is a narrow street filled with artisan workshops—printers, cobblers, marble workers, and framers. Among them, one stands out, impossible to ignore: Vittorio Costantini’s window, brimming with tiny glass sculptures of birds, insects, and even industrious bees on honeycomb, The colors and lifelike details are astounding. Looking inside, you can catch a glimpse of Vittorio at his bench, melting rods and blending powders, working tirelessly with his torch, surrounded by more creatures—many of which are not for sale, showcasing his creative evolution over the years.
Each piece requires hours of labor—multicolored insects, iridescent butterflies, birds, fish, and colorful flowers are all the result of his extraordinary manual skills.
Born in Burano in 1944, Vittorio is a seasoned lampworker, a master of this ancient technique, and a dedicated experimenter. He approaches the world with a sharp gaze filled with curiosity and ingenuity. Nature, which he experienced as a child fishing with his father and observing the abundant lagoon fauna, has always fascinated him. He seems to have a unique gift for merging the real world with imagination.
Vittorio began working in Murano’s furnaces at the age of 11, though his focus has always been on flame-working. Over the years, he worked in various furnaces, learning both the small and large secrets of the trade by watching others, as he had no master to teach him. His passion for glass lampworking became his profession when he opened his workshop in 1974 and, half a century later, he is still there at his bench, as industrious as ever, sided by his wife and, sometimes, his son. In recent years, he has devoted himself to teaching Invited as a guest artist at the world’s most prestigious glass schools, he is now considered one of the most renowned contemporary masters of the craft.