A Lectio Magistralis by Marco Toso Borella for “New Design 2025”
Marco Toso Borella delivered a lectio magistralis titled “Murano Glass and Design: History and Challenges of a Possible Dialogue ” on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at the Sala delle Colonne in Cà Giustinian, home of the Venice Biennale, as part of the national conference NEW DESIGN 2025 “The Roots of the Future: Dialogue Between Innovative and Traditional Materials to Explore New Aesthetic and Functional Perspectives.”
Other speakers included the President of the Venice Biennale Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, the Director General for School Systems at the Ministry of Education and Merit Antonella Tozza, designer Andrea Vecera, and Magis founder Eugenio Perazza.
The Maestro illustrated the history of Murano Glass before an audience of 400 students and teachers from high schools across Italy who participated in the “New Design” competition promoted by Amici del Foscarini as part of Biennale Educational. He explained to them why Murano is and must still be synonymous with “glass” in the world today. Why Venice was unique and number one in every discipline. Why it is important that today’s design not lose sight of knowledge, dialogue, and respect for the history and identity of the raw material.
The full video of the presentation
