New archaeological research is rewriting the timeline of Venetian glass. Evidence uncovered on the island of San Pietro di Castello, one of Venice’s oldest settlements, points to glass production as early as the 8th century. This discovery pushes back the history of the earliest Venetian glassmaking and places the city at the center of Mediterranean trade and technological exchange much earlier than previously believed.
The findings come from a study led by Margherita Ferri of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.
Ferri, working with Elisabetta Gliozzo from the University of Florence and Eleonora Braschi of the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, analyzed 45 glass fragments dated between the 6th and 9th centuries.
The samples included vessel pieces, production waste and a steatite crucible. They were originally recovered during early 1990s excavations conducted by the local archaeological superintendency in partnership with Ca’ Foscari University.
Early innovation and global networks in the glass trade
The research highlights Venice’s role in adopting advanced glassmaking technologies well ahead of the Murano era. Some of the fragments were made using plant-ash glass, a technique that replaced the older Roman recipe of natron-based glass due to limited access to Egyptian raw materials.
Chemical analysis showed that the plant-ash glass likely originated in the Syro-Levantine region. Ferri said this suggests that as early as the 8th century, Venice was importing advanced materials from hundreds of miles away and working them locally. This points to the city’s early integration into international supply networks.
One of the most revealing discoveries came from a small blue mosaic fragment. Researchers identified two different opacifying agents within it: calcium antimonate, used until the 4th century, and lead stannate, a later innovation.
The mix of technologies, according to Ferri, indicates the use of recycled Roman glass, showing that artisans blended old and new materials long before modern recycling practices.
Sustainable techniques in the earliest Venetian glassmaking
The study also found that Venetian craftspeople achieved blue coloring not through refined cobalt pigment, but by reusing cobalt-rich metal slag from other industries. This approach reflects a resourceful production method that reduced waste and highlights an early form of material reuse.
Chemical signatures from the glass also revealed that raw material came in nearly equal parts from Egypt and the Levant. Researchers linked certain beakers to Syro-Levantine sources, though their shapes matched local Venetian designs. Other pieces, such as a Syrian-style conical glass, arrived as finished luxury goods.
This mixed supply chain confirms that Early Medieval Venice was not only producing glass but was also a key player in importing both raw materials and high-end products, cementing its role in the earliest Venetian glassmaking.
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