By Gianluca Bianchini
The Alvise Giustinian store in Florence takes its name and is inspired by the Venetian doge of the same name of the 1200s, as well as the palace that houses the glass museum of Venice. It is the reference point in Tuscany for Venetian craftsmanship Made in Italy.
A small jewel set in the circle of the ancient city walls. A stone’s throw from Piazza Santa Croce, it brings the beauty and craftsmanship of Murano to our city. It is a story that begins in the artisan workshops as well as in the taverns of the small island near Venice where the founder, Florentine by birth, frequented the glass masters of the time for work: Venini, Salviati, Vetreria Rossi and many others.
The passion for art and the love for beauty were the push to open the first shop in the south of Florence in 1989: it was a resounding success and an absolute novelty to be able to choose and buy a chandelier or any other object made with original Murano glass, right in our city. An article in the newspaper ‘La Nazione’ of the time reported the words: “Murano in Florence”. Set up in a museum style, the shop exhibited all types of manual glass craftsmanship: sculptures, chandeliers and jewelry.
A new adventure followed in the city of Viareggio lasting about twelve years. In the current location in Corso Tintori they wanted to achieve and replicate the atmosphere of a shop in the centre of Venice. Colours, emotions and suggestions typical of the Venetian city. Inside you can admire all the forms in which the beauty of Murano glass – famous all over the world thanks to the skilful tradition of generations of glass artisans – is expressed: the glass worked by hand, blown and shaped in the heat of the furnaces is declined in sculptures, vases, chandeliers, Murano glass jewelry, symbol par excellence of Venetian artistic craftsmanship.
But Alvise Giustinian’s fame does not end with the artistic glass of Murano but extends to the magical atmosphere of Venice with its Carnival colours, with the mystery of the mysterious looks behind the typical Venetian masks.
True Venetian craftsmanship, Alvise Giustinian offers tourists – and customers passionate about Made in Italy craftsmanship – a vast collection of Venetian papier-mâché masks on display: all handmade, embellished with real ostrich feathers, or painted with the gold leaf technique.
A complete, rare exhibition, very difficult to find outside the Venetian lagoon: there are all the Venetian masks typical of the Carnival tradition, such as the plague doctor or the long-nosed masks (the so-called ‘nasoni‘) and even the classic Joker mask of the popular playing cards.
At this fantastic glass shop in Murano, Florence, you will be surprised by a wide selection of handmade papier-mâché Venetian masks, for a gift or for a sophisticated touch of class for your home. Don’t miss the opportunity to dream of Venice with its squares and streets by coming right here in Corso Tintori, in Florence. The current owners, direct descendants of the founder, with their immense passion for craftsmanship and Venetian tradition, will make you fall in love with this slice of Venice overlooking the Arno.
Info: Alvise Giustinian, Via Corso Tintori 19/R, Florence / Tel. 055 2466295 / 347 5954100 / www.alvisegiustinian.com / info@alvisegiustinian.com