Venetian glass is glassware made in Venice, typically on the island of Murano near the city. Note 1] The earliest archaeological evidence of a glass factory in the area comes from the Venetian lagoon island of Torcello and dates from the seventh or eighth century. Note 2] Early products included beads, glass for mosaics, jewelry, small mirrors, and window glass. In addition to guarding their secret processes and glass recipes, Venetian/Murano glassmakers strived for beauty with their glass. The use of "Crystal" as a marketing term for glass has continued into modern times, though for at least the last century it has normally meant lead crystal glass of the type developed by Ravenscroft. Is a form of artistic Murano glass that has layers of different colors, which are formed by dipping colored glass into another molten glass and then blowing the combination into a desired shape. In 1612 the Florentine priest Antonio Neri published L'Arte Vetraria, which revealed all the secrets of Venetian glass production to the outside world, and by the later 16th century the efforts of the Venetian Republic to hold on to its virtual monopoly in the production of luxury glass, mainly by keeping skilled workers in the republic, were beginning to fail.

In 1673, English glass merchant George Ravenscroft created a clear glass he called crystalline-but it was not stable. Three years later, he improved this glass by adding lead oxide, and lead glass was created. The Bohemian glass was not suitable to the Murano-style artwork on the glass. This harder glass was produced as a thicker glass suitable for glass engraving and grinding. Napoleon closed the Venetian glass factories in 1807, although simple glassware and beadmaking continued. From its beginning until the fall of the Venetian Republic, Murano glass was mostly a very high quality soda-lime glass that had extra attention focused on its appearance. A pontello is the pontil, an iron rod that holds the glass while work is done on the edge of the glass. In February 2021, Venetian glass trade beads were announced to have been found at three prehistoric Eskimo sites in Alaska, including Punyik Point.