If you look carefully, you will notice that gold plays an important part in Venice: in the mosaics in Saint Mark’s Cathedral; on the plasterwork of palazzi; on the ornaments of gondolas, cornices and furniture. This gold is extremely thin gold leaf applied to the object and affixed using special adhesives. In Venice this gossamer-like gold leaf is still made using the traditional method, with a hammer in hand and without the aid of machines (apart from a small mechanical mallet). The company is Mario Berta Battiloro, today run by Marino Menegazzo, which supplies gold leaf to wood carvers for the decorations on gondolas and furniture, mosaic artists who apply it to glass paste and master glassmakers who use it with molten glass. 

At the workshop, as well as gold leaf in various sizes and thicknesses, you can also find gold alloys and silver. The production also affects areas of E175 food decoration and cosmetic use.