Murano glass returns to illuminate St. Mark’s Square this winter with the third edition of Murano Illumina il Mondo (Murano Lights Up The World), the exhibition project that shines a spotlight on the island of Murano via the winning alliance between glass and contemporary art. The initiative is organised and promoted by Comune di Venezia and The Venice Glass Week, with financial support from Pentagram Stiftung and Camera di Commercio di Venezia Rovigo through the Azienda Speciale Opportunità e Mercati.
From 21st November 2025 to 1st March 2026, twelve magnificent chandeliers will be exhibited in St. Mark’s Square – “the most beautiful drawing room in the world” – under the vaults of the Procuratie Vecchie. The chandeliers are the result of the collaboration between internationally renowned artists and designers and some of Murano’s most prestigious glass furnaces. The participating artists and designers were invited to reinterpret an everyday object, the chandelier, using both traditional and modern glassmaking techniques. Their designs were realised by some of Murano’s most talented glass masters, renowned for their remarkable technical skills, centuries-old techniques and innovative experimentation.
For this occasion, Irene will present to the public a new creation, “The Observatory”, created with Lavorazioni Artistiche di Fabiano Amadi, in collaboration with Lo Studio – Nadja Romain.
Eight lunar spheres of Murano glass hang suspended, evoking the planets and reflecting light with quiet intensity. The piece frames the observatory as a space of dream and reflection, where looking outward into the cosmos allows the self to find perspective, and imagination, science, and introspection converge. Venice mirrors this duality: a city of stimulation and inspiration, yet one that offers quiet moments for contemplation, where discovery and introspection coexist.
The spheres themselves are crafted through an alchemy of glass, minerals, and metal powders, layered to create depth, texture, and a subtle, luminous complexity in each piece. Inspired by Italo Calvino’s "Cosmicomics", in which the universe becomes a lens for thought and wonder:
“You explode, if that's more to your taste, shoot yourself all around in endless darts, be prodigal, spendthrift, reckless: I shall implode, collapse inside the abyss of myself, towards my buried centre, infinitely.”
Each sphere becomes a point of reference, inviting viewers to escape into the vastness of the cosmos, to reflect on their place within it, and to inhabit a space that is at once contemplative, imaginative, and transformative.
