Sisters of Glass

by Stephanie Hemphill

  neck—the edge of a piece of glass that will be scored and separated when it is transferred to the punty.

  paddle—a wooden tool that flattens the bottom of a piece of glass.

  palazzo—a palace or large house.

  Piazza San Marco—(St. Mark’s Square) generally known as the Piazza, the political, social, and religious center and principal square of Venice. In the fifteenth century, the bricked pavement would have been laid, the Doge’s palace would have been part of the square (or what is known as the Piazzetta), and St. Mark’s Basilica would have existed as well.

  pincers—a tool that can be used to develop glass, to fix handles, and to form the spout on jugs. Pincers are also used to guide the color patterns, to manipulate the shape of the glass, and to open the piece by hand.

  podesta—the political leader or chief magistrate of an Italian city-state. The political leader of Murano in the fifteenth century.

  punty/pontil—the solid metal rod a glassblower uses for bits and to transfer glass from the blowpipe.

  Rialto Bridge—the oldest bridge across the Grand Canal in Venice. The stone bridge that you see today was designed by Antonio da Ponte and finished in 1591, so at the time of this book, the Rialto Bridge would have been made of wood. One of the wood versions of the bridge had collapsed in 1444, but the one that existed in 1465 would have looked remarkably similar to the stone version that you see standing today.

  ricordare—Italian for “remember.”

  rosary—from the Latin for “garland of roses,” a Catholic devotion. The rosary is a necklace of prayer beads that is used to count a series of prayers—Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father—along with praying one of now twenty mysteries of the rosary.

  senator—one who wore red robes and served as part of the government of the Republic of Venice. Senators came from the aristocracy. The end of the fifteenth century saw the beginning of the golden book of senators, meaning that your family name had to be written in a special book of old, longstanding aristocratic Venetian nobility for you to become a senator.

  shears—a scissors-like tool that is used to cut a straight line or bit of glass.

  signore—Italian for the polite address for a man.

  sorella—Italian for “sister.”

  tweezers—a tool used to pinch and pull glass.