Description

Video above: Millefiori

The millefiori rod, also called rosetta in its traditional form, was invented in Murano in the second half of the 15th century, but also appeared as early as the Hellenistic and Roman glassworks but with different decorations.

A small quantity of glass is attached to a short metal rod by the specialised craftsman, and then inserted in a star-shaped mould. After being briefly immersed in water to cool the glass, it is covered in a different colour and again cooled and inserted in the mould, and the process continues at pleasure. Finally, the cylindrical mass ('pastòn' in Murano) is attached to the other end to another rod and stretched for tens of metres, then laid on parallel slats of wood and cut into segments. Annealing is not necessary.

As early as the 15th century in Murano, irregular-length millefiori rods were put together and marvered around the monochrome wall of a blown object, so as to produce a polychromatic decoration.