Massimo Micheluzzi grew up in his father’s antique workshop in Venice, which had been active since the 1960s. In the late 1990s, after a long and fruitful apprenticeship in the well-known Venini furnace, Massimo took up his own journey and turned his father’s activity into a glassblowing workshop. He uses the techniques that have defined the Murano tradition, striving to balance it with innovation. He applies this heritage craftsmanship to achieve a very modern aesthetic. Massimo's work is exhibited all over the world in established museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, and naturally the Museo del Vetro di Murano in Venice.

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This is an opaque blown glass vase made with mosaic pieces. The vase's marble effect is recreated through the fusion of glass fragments, then assembled into a composition reminiscent of the terrazzo floors of Venetian palaces.

Mosaico Terrazzo

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This is an opaque blown glass vase made with mosaic pieces, inspired by the ancient marble cutting technique of which there are many examples in Venice. The geometric pattern of this vase is inspired by the floors of St. Mark's Basilica.

Mosaico Intarsio

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This cup is a blown glass vase. To achieve this fluid and organic appearance, the glass is blown and shaped in an incandescent state until its shape contorts independently with heat. The sinuous curves of the vase are further enhanced by the effect of iris, an iridescent, shiny patina that produces vibrations of light similar to the ripples of water.

Coppa Oceano

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This is a blown glass vase. To achieve this fluid and organic look, the glass is blown and moulded in an incandescent state until the shape contorts independently with heat. The sinuous curves of the vase are further enhanced by the effect of iris, an iridescent and shiny patina that evokes the colours of Venice and its lagoon environment.

Allungato Oceano

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Always in search of new stimuli and challenges, Matteo Seguso is one of the youngest performers of the traditional handmade glass engraving technique and cold working. His engraved pieces sit in many private collections around the world. In his workshop, inherited from his father Bruno and the partner Paolo, he creates artistic engravings on vases, glasses, mirrors or any glass object; giving rise to a wide range of drawings, sketches and embroidery. Matteo collaborates with several furnaces in Murano, as well as internationally renowned designers and artists. But his spirit remains tied to Venice and Murano where, one day, maybe his children could follow in their father’s footsteps. "They play with the wheel, like I did as a child in the workshop".

Seguso, Matteo

An ancient glass art

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Simone Crestani was only 15 years old when he started his training in the workshop of his neighbour Massimo Lunardon, who was a master lampwork glassmaker. He was looking for a summer job that would enable him to earn a little money, but in the space of a couple of weeks he decided to leave school and dedicate himself to this craft. Today, still in his 30s, Crestani is internationally renowned as one of the most outstanding craftsmen of his generation, whose works have been showcased in a number of exhibitions around the world. For him, receiving the Talent du Luxe prize in 2018 was “the perfect way to celebrate my ‘coming of age’ in the professional world”.

Crestani, Simone

A young star in the world of glass

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In 2000, when Lilla Tabasso decided to abandon her biology studies to dedicate herself to the art of glass, several master glassmakers in Murano advised her to give up, saying “it’s too complicated,” she explains with a smile. However, she did not give up and today she is internationally recognised for her splendid floral sculptures. When the Centre du Luxe et de la Création in Paris awarded her the prestigious Talent du Luxe prize she saw it as “an acknowledgement that has rewarded me for the many sacrifices I had to make. At the same time, it’s payback against those who thought I would never succeed because I am a woman, and glassmaking is considered to be a man’s craft.”

Tabasso, Lilla

A bouquet of emotions

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Although he is one of the undisputed masters of Italian glass, Massimo Lunardon has never won a prize. “Perhaps it’s because I won a cup for a running race when I was 12,” he laughs. “I don’t like competitions. I also hate worldliness, and I am embarrassed when I have to talk in public.” He is satisfied with the praise he receives from collectors, and from the many designers who go to him to create their objects. “Working with people from different fields is the most stimulating part of my profession. Recently I enjoyed collaborating with great chefs to create bespoke table sets. They include Massimo Alajmo of the Le Calandre di Sarmeola restaurant in Rubano, near Padua, and Enrico Crippa of the Piazza Duomo restaurant in Alba.”

Lunardon, Massimo

The maestro of Italian glassmaking

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Developed in partnership with Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte and made possible by the support of Cartier, Homo Faber in Città gives you a rare chance to visit over 70 artisan workshops. The project is developed in collaboration with Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Confartigianato Imprese Venezia, CNA Venezia, Consorzio Promovetro Murano, The Venice Glass Week and Venezia da Vivere.

Our Partners

Step inside the workshops and ateliers to learn the secrets of local master artisans and manufacturers

Try your hand at different crafts with an authentic experience

Marvel at examples of fine craftsmanship by doing our itineraries

This september, the second edition of Homo Faber in Città invites visitors to step off the beaten track and discover the artisanal addresses where Venetian craftspeople create objects of exquisite beauty. A rare opportunity to witness Venice’s master artisans and young talents demonstrating their crafts and presenting the tools, materials and skills involved in contemporary Venetian craftsmanship.

Enrich your experience beyond Homo Faber 2024: The Journey of Life

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Homo Faber Guide is an online portal dedicated to contemporary craftsmanship, showcasing artisans, ateliers, museums, galleries, shops and experiences. Create your user account for access to exclusive features on Homo Faber Guide: save your preferred pages, hear about hot topics first, leave recommendations for your favourite artisans and much more.

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Although the Michelangelo Foundation researches the talents for its projects autonomously, collaboration with our ambassadors is fundamental. Over 120 associations, schools and institutions allow us to map the continents for craftsmanship and to have partners in each country who share our vision and goals. In addition, we have asked well-known personalities in the craft, design and art world to be our ambassadors in the cities where they live, so that their recommendations can offer a unique insight into craftsmanship in the major cities of Europe and beyond.

Who are our ambassadors?

Download our free Homo Faber Guide app (iOS and Android) to discover artisans, museums, galleries, shops, and experiences by location. Search Homo Faber on the App store on your mobile device.

Find craftsmanship destinations on the go

Discover the addresses of esteemed manufacturers, well known for producing high quality objects across a wide variety of crafts. Read their stories and find out where you can shop their contemporary pieces, see their archive collections and even in some cases visit their workshops. Find exceptional ateliers where artisans collaborate creatively to create fine pieces of craftsmanship. Reach out to them to commission something special.

Ateliers & Manufacturers

All the artisans and small workshops featured in Homo Faber Guide have been carefully researched and selected. They are presented and narrated through a selection of images and an interview, which allows readers to immerse themselves in the universe of these makers who exemplify excellence in their individual fields or are promising talents of the future. Find masters and rising stars who share the same passion and determination, and whose workshops are ready to share their secrets with visitors.

A selection of the best artisans

Are you eager to discover a city through craftsmanship? Do you wish to spend a few hours visiting an applied arts museum or attending a course on a craft with one of the masters featured in Homo Faber Guide? Browse the section dedicated to experiences and find your next adventure.

Experiences

An expert artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years. He or she may also be engaged in passing on their knowledge to the next generations, but they have been doing so for less than seven years. Beyond this, they will become a Master artisan.

Who is an Expert artisan?

Homo Faber Guide provides you with a selection of the best addresses across Europe and further afield, where you will be able to discover and purchase exceptional objects, some of which are created by artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide.

Galleries

Homo Faber Guide is an online platform dedicated to craftsmanship that allows you to discover artisans and their masterpieces; explore museums, visit galleries and shops selling unique objects; enjoy experiences in cities across Europe and beyond.

Homo Faber Guide is a signature project developed by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, an international non-profit organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, which was set up in 2016 thanks to the intuition of Franco Cologni and Johann Rupert. The Michelangelo Foundation’s mission is to celebrate and preserve master craftsmanship, and for this reason it has created a map of the most significant representatives in this field, with the aim of connecting all its protagonists: artisans, designers, gallery owners, art curators, collectors and enthusiasts of high-quality handmade pieces.

About the Guide

Are you an artisan, atelier or manufacturer? Would you like to be featured in Homo Faber Guide? The Michelangelo Foundation encourages self-assessment initiatives and is pleased to evaluate new members to appear on the Guide or in other projects. Thanks to the Master’s Touch Evaluation Tool, every artisan can send their application: register and access a questionnaire to see if you fulfill the 11 criteria for excellence that stand behind all the activities of the Michelangelo Foundation. If your answers reach the minimum requirement, your application will be brought to our attention; if, on the contrary, you should score below the minimum requirement, we will give you some points for improvement, in the hope that you may participate in future initiatives of the Michelangelo Foundation.

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Our artisan labels

A master artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years, and who has also been engaged in passing on his or her expertise to the younger generations for more than seven years. This is in keeping with one of the key values of the Michelangelo Foundation: the transmission of knowledge in craftsmanship.

Who is a Master artisan?

Find museums handpicked for their links to contemporary craftsmanship and the exquisite collections they have on display. In each city, discover a museum of interest and organise your visit. From Italian museums displaying coral collections, glass pieces and ceramics to decorative art museums in Russia and Greece, marvel at the variety of museums exhibiting masterpieces, showcasing techniques and recounting histories.

Museums

A rising star is an artisan who has been active for less than ten years, and who is capable of expressing his or her craft with competence, creativity and originality. Whether self-taught or trained, the rising star represents the future of craftsmanship, in creativity, concerns and approaches.

Who is a Rising star?

The artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide have been selected through a meticulous assessment process based on the 11 criteria for excellence, identified by Alberto Cavalli, Executive Director of the Michelangelo Foundation, in the volume The Master’s Touch, written with researchers Giuditta Comerci and Giovanna Marchello. The members of the Michelangelo Foundation’s network who have been invited to participate in sourcing artisans for the Guide use an evaluation tool based on these criteria. In this way, they can identify the most suitable artisans to include in the project.

Simple rules for a transparent selection

In which city does the artisan work?

In which country does the artisan practise?

What craft does the artisan practise?

What is the artisan’s Instagram page?

What is the name of the artisan you are recommending?

Does the artisan have a website?

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