Smalti Talk: Making Mosaics in Venice While Living Like Royalty

In these troubled times, you want to wring all you can from a vacation, don't you? You want things to do, you want elegant rooms, you want to see the city like a native.

If you're into mosaic work, or always wanted to learn it, I've got just the place for you. It's called Orsoni. Orsoni is a maker of smalti, the fused, colored and opaque glass that is eventually cut into tesserae for use in mosaic arts. They have a small guest house attached to their foundry called Domus Orsoni. Every room in Domus Orsoni has a unique mosaic treatment. Ours, for example, had gold mosaics and gold fixtures in the bath. Not bad for a reasonably priced room in Venice.

You can also take classes in mosaic work and stay at Domus Orsoni if you wish. Imagine, creating your own mosaics (even the gold tesserae can be used in your creation) in the place that made mosaics famous (St. Marks has about an acre of area covered with them) while vacationing like royalty in one of the world's most compelling destinations.

Here's some enticement:

• Venice Mosaics Pictures (see the Orsoni workers at work making the smalti and working with the tesserae)
• Domus Orsoni Guest House Review (with some information on classes)
• A Short History of Mosaics in Europe (and where to see the best mosaics)