A Day in Dorsoduro with Micheluzzi Glass
In this new chapter of our Diary we are going to spend a day in our beloved neighborhood Dorsoduro and we would like you to join us! Venice is a truly captivating city that we are lucky to call home. Not divided but uniquely merged by its famous canals, the very heart of Venice is could be described as a beautiful web of stone, water, and glass.
Other cities have quarters but in Venice we have sestieri which could roughly be translated into subdivision. Venice is composed of six equally beautiful and unique sestieri but we are dedicating this feature to telling you about a day in our lives in our home sestiere: Dorsoduro. The name Dorsoduro derives from the combination of Italian words: osso and duro. The combination of both means hard bone or hard spine. The etymologic reference reflects on Dorsoduro having a much harder and more stable soil compared to the rest of Venice.
Our shop is in the heart of Dorsoduro and we consider Ponte delle Maravegie - where also our family home and the studio are located - to be the hard bone for us. Today, we start our morning activities at the shop per usual. The shop has been a family business through generations: once our grandfather’s antique shop, then our father’s studio and gallery, now is also the home to our new glass collection. And with our family home just above the shop, everyone in the Micheluzzi clan gravitates around the shop.
At Micheluzzi's shop there is a continuous activity including production, preparations, packing/unpacking and photography throughout the day. The first thing we do when we open the shop is to reply to the emails and do our daily phone calls. The first and most important call of the day is the one with the furnace in Murano to plan production with our Maestro as we are planning to go to Murano to supervise production later this week. We also like to run our inventory in the early morning before it gets busy in the shop. We also received some orders today, therefore we are going to package them with care and arrange the quickest delivery.
Although we spend most of our time in the shop, we often have errands to run in the morning and today is no exception. Today’s mission is to buy flowers to decorate the vases at our shop window, hence the perfect opportunity to take you on a stroll in the area. The destination is Campo Santa Margherita, arguably one of the most famous squares in town characterized by being a marketplace and meeting spot for Venice residents. On the way there, we are going to stop for a quick coffee at Pasticceria Toletta.
After having our much-needed colazione, we are heading to La Barca to buy groceries. La Barca is a colorful floating fruit and vegetable boat next to Campo San Barnaba. You might think it is odd to buy fresh groceries from a boat permanently anchored on the dock but trust us: it is the Venetian way. Finally, we arrive at Campo Santa Margherita to buy flowers from Andrea’s flower banquet which is only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It is no secret that we like to decorate our vases at our shop and home with fresh flowers that are in season. Andrea prepares beautiful bouquets of flowers for our vases as we watch other people running their errands at the buzzy Campo.
Following our trip to Campo Santa Margherita, we are back in the shop and ready to work on updating our website. We update our online shop regularly to meet customer demand and we often have to add new images. This is why we are going to do a photoshoot for our new products today. It’s a sunny Spring day which means we can do a photoshoot outdoors at our favorite spot: Zattere, a fondamenta rich in natural light and surrounded by Venetian architecture. Both of these qualities deem it the perfectly tailored backdrop for our photos.
We usually go to Zattere in the early afternoon when the light is ideal. This is also the perfect time for a treat: a scoop of gelato at Gelateria di Nico, located at the shore of the Giudecca Canal. It is arguably the best spot to enjoy your gelato facing a breath-taking panoramic view. The gelato break has to be short since the afternoon is the busiest time at our shop. We have the most customers coming in at this time of the day.
We are always happy to show our display, explain the techniques, and share our story with anyone whose interested. Whether curious visitors, new customers, or returning clients, we like to greet and assist everyone in the intimate atmosphere of our shop. And as the day draws closer and we wrap up the final tasks, we know it is the perfect time for a Venetian aperitivo.
Just across our beloved Ponte delle Maravegie and a bit further down on the Fondamenta San Trovaso, there stands Schiavi. Formally known as Cantine del Vino già Schiavi, it is without a doubt our favorite bacaro. We truly feel at home at this place as you can always find friends, bring clients and meet new people here. At first sight, this bacaro looks no different than any other traditional Italian bar but their great selection of good quality wine and creative cicchetti (Venetian tapas) makes Schiavi special.
Another thing about this spot is its location: a bit further down the fondamenta you can watch how gondolas are made across the canal at Squero San Trovaso while sipping on a nice glass of ombra.
We hope that you enjoyed this chapter of our diary and if you want to read more about our story, check out our The Origins of Micheluzzi Glass.