“Where are you going?” a friend I meet at the Milan train station asks me. “To Murano,” I reply. And she: “Always nice to go to Venice.” No, I am not going to Venice, my destination is actually Murano. Because this small island in the Northern Lagoon is changing fast. Rumors about its new tourism personality began when Punta Conterie had been opened in 2019, a concept store in the style of Parisian Colette, with a shop, an exhibition space, and a fine dining restaurant. All in the former largest and most important industry on the island that produced everything from borosilicate to glass beads, which departed from the Lagoon towars Africa and the Far East.

For centuries, Murano’s economy relied solely on glassmaking: men worked in the furnace, while women were perlere and impiraresse who assembled beads for export worldwide, cultivating the precious and unique art of glass beadmaking, now part of Unesco’s Intangible Heritage. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Murano, which faced highs and lows, from competition with Bohemian crystals during the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the recent challenges of pandemic and a fifteenfold increase in gas prices, making furnace maintenance extremely costly. Today, only fifteen furnaces remain.

“Things change, and we must adapt,” says Manuel Tarlà, a former PR for famous nightclubs, who acquired OroVetro in 2018, a furnace specializing in producing world-renowned chandeliers. Tarlà believes Murano’s glass has a unique way to stand out: artistic glassmaking. Extraordinary pieces fill not only the Glass Museum (set to expand by 30%) but also the galleries of Barovier & Toso, Aristide Najean (Philippe Starck’s trusted master), and Berengo Studio, which collaborated with Ai Wei Wei on La Commedia Umana, a record-breaking, lightless black chandelier weighing 2,000 kg and standing nine meter tall.

Tarlà, representing a new generation of entrepreneurs, aims to innovate tradition, making it accessible by opening his furnace to the public during special events featuring cocktails, appetizers, costumed performers, and DJ sets in the industrial spaces with a Versailles-style chandelier at the center. The first Good Vibes event showcased a vase by Lucio Bubacco, created by a team of artisans who cut, temper, finish, shape, and color raw material through numerous heat-intensive steps.

Murano also boasts small artisans like Alessia Vuga, who melts colored traditionaal glass rods to create contemporary jewelry in her workshop located in a reclaimed industrial area. Projects like Mano a mano, sponsored by The Place of Wonders foundation, promote independent workshops and offer scholarships to those wishing to learn the craft.

However, combining art with a virtuous tourism approach is crucial as Murano embarks on a new chapter. This appeals to travelers seeking a more human pace and unexplored places where beauty remains intact.

Murano, a miniature community where its 4,000 inhabitants are either relatives, friends, or acquaintances, instantly welcomes visitors who quickly become part of the community. In Murano, one cannot enter a bar (or bacaro) without being offered a drink as a sign of hospitality. The island’s charm lies in its gentle accent and friendly atmosphere. From sunset to late morning, a poetic silence prevails, and each corner reveals its industrial past with brick factories and closely-knit houses connected by clotheslines.

Unlike the Grand Canal’s noble palaces, Murano lacks long queues, even for admiring the recently restored mosaics of the Duomo, an excellent example of Venetian-Byzantine style. Many old furnaces have found new purposes, like the historic De Majo factory, now Murano’s first five-star hotel, NH Collection, with 92 rooms, 12 suites, and a spa frequented by locals for massages, Turkish baths, emotional showers, and saunas. Two more hotels have been announced, with Langham’s construction already underway, set to be a luxury five-star with 133 rooms and design by Matteo Thun, expected to open in the first half of 2026.

Elodie Kondji, a Parisian former dancer who opened the short-term rental agency Sleep Murano, believes Murano has the potential to become the Capri of the Lagoon. Murano’s allure includes its authenticity, absent in overcrowded places. Wandering along Riva Longa in the evening, hearing the echo of my footsteps, I head to Trattoria ai Piantaleoni, where the menu offers comforting, traditional dishes like cannellini bean soup with scampi and fresh lagoon fish. Balancing between tradition and modernity, the casual yet modern Osteria Acquastanca offers shared dishes and a sought-after outdoor table.