Cesare Toffolo glassblower in Venice

© Courtesy of Cesare Toffolo

Cesare Toffolo

Top choice in Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands


Mind-boggling miniatures are the trademarks of this Murano glass-blower, but you’ll also find some dramatic departures: chiselled cobalt-blue vases, glossy black candlesticks that look like minarets, and drinking glasses so fine that they seem to be made out of air.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands attractions

1. Santa Chiara – The Glass Cathedral

0.03 MILES

There are authentic glass factories on Murano offering cheaper demonstrations and turning out far finer work, but this furnace – housed within a…

2. Chiesa di San Pietro Martire

0.2 MILES

Take a pause from glass shopping to check out The Baptism of Christ, attributed to Tintoretto, in 16th-century St Peter the Martyr's Church. The parish…

3. Faro di Murano

0.2 MILES

Murano's white lighthouse only dates to 1934, but it's a distinctive island landmark. It's not open to the public.

4. Museo del Vetro

0.42 MILES

Since 1861, Murano’s glass-making prowess has been celebrated in Palazzo Giustinian, the home of bishops of Torcello from 1689 until the diocese's…

5. Murano

0.42 MILES

Murano has been the home of Venetian glass-making since the 13th century. Today, artisans continue to ply their trade at workshops dotted around the…

6. Cimitero di San Michele

0.44 MILES

Until Napoleon established a city cemetery on this little island, Venetians had been buried in parish plots across town – not an ideal solution in a…

7. Basilica dei SS Maria e Donato

0.48 MILES

Fire-breathing is the unifying theme of Murano’s medieval church, with its astounding 12th-century gilded-glass apse mosaic of the Madonna made in Murano…

8. I Gesuiti

0.84 MILES

Giddily over the top even by rococo standards, this glitzy 18th-century Jesuit church is difficult to take in all at once, with staggering white-and-green…