History of glass
The history of glass-making dates back to at least 3600 years ago in Mesopotamia. However, they may have been producing second-rate copies of glass objects from Egypt, where this complex craft originated. Other archaeological evidence suggests that the first true glass was made in coastal north Syria, Mesopotamia or Egypt. The earliest known glass objects, of the mid second millennium BC, were beads, perhaps initially created as the accidental by-products of metal-working (slags) or during the production of faience, a pre-glass vitreous material made by a process similar to glazing. Glass products remained a luxury until the disasters that overtook the late Bronze Age civilizations seemingly brought glass-making to a halt.
Venetian glass
Glass began being produced in Venice around 450, as glassmakers from Aquileia fled to the islands to escape barbarian invaders. The earliest archaeological evidence of a glass factory in the area is from the Venetian lagoon island of Torcello, which dates from the 7th to 8th century. The original Venetian glassmakers were joined by glassmakers from Byzantium (a.k.a. Constantinople) and the Middle East—which enriched their glassmaking knowledge. Glass was made in the Middle East long before it was made in Europe. Early products were beads, glass for mosaics, jewelry, small mirrors, and window glass.