Vetrofusione at the Piero Ragazzi atelier

The history of Murano glass boasts a very long list of techniques that have improved and evolved over the centuries.
One of the most recent techniques dates back to the 1930s and is the vetrofusione.

Glass melting is a technique used to join pieces of glass by partially melting them: two or more pieces of glass are laid side by side or overlapped and are heated to a temperature of 750-850 ° C (1200-1400 ° F) using a special oven.
The process is very specific, in fact the glasses with different expansion coefficients cannot be fused together, because in the cooling process the piece would break.

This technique is perfect to create a wide variety of pieces by fusing different types of materials;
it is possible to realize an infinite variety of shapes. Colored glass tiles can be shaped and composed to create suggestive perspective effects.
Piero Ragazzi is one of the leaders of this technique.
Well known for his Center Pieces and Trinket Tray, Ragazzi stand out from the serial production for his constant attention to details.
Moreover on his atelier you can find a great variety of pieces, from murrine sticks (which he produces himself), bijoux, paperweight, lamps and colored vases often embellished with a gold leaf.

He uses the vetrofusione technique as he calls "the sandwich way", it means, create the piece layer by layer in order to make the product thicker and earthy. You can easily identify his creations for their minimal style and the triangolar and long shapes. 

Ragazzi Paperweight

Discover more about the Ragazzi work and others Vetrofusione's artists on our website.